In the aftermath of Geneva Watch Days, Elizabeth Doerr discovered some fun wristshots taken during the fair. As these mark a journey of sorts through the new watches – as well as models released throughout 2020 that our team hadn’t seen in real yet – she thought to share a few of them here.
Watching the news for spiking virus cases, with Geneva rapidly becoming Switzerland’s new hotspot, and deciding by the minute whether we would attend, three of our team members took the plunge and traveled to Geneva to experience the new watches first-hand. Here are our thoughts on the busy, “socially distanced” Geneva Watch Days, including our favorites, the watch we disliked the most, and what we would buy!
Whether Geneva Watch Days takes place or not, and whether it’s deemed successful or not because of all the travel and quarantine restrictions, doesn’t change the fact that there was a good chance that it could have run very successfully. Which means Ian Skellern was wrong in calling Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin delusional for organizing it. And for that he apologizes.
The time is now, according to GaryG, for large watch brands to seize the opportunity to make a real difference to the health of the mechanical watch industry and the prosperity of their brands. He thinks that 2020 is the year for CEOs to commit to entering their best new pieces in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).
The GPHG Academy will soon be making its submissions for the 2020 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. As Ian Skellern began putting rough lists of watches together, he realized that he was likely only aware of a fraction of watches that are both eligible and noteworthy. And as his favorite niche sectors are likely to be different than yours, many of you will know about watches that he, and perhaps other Academy members, don’t. So please let us know your favorite new watches in the categories here and we’ll take them into consideration.
The Red Dot is one of, if not THE, world’s most important and widely recognized design awards. Here Elizabeth Doerr shares 2020’s watch laureates with us.
The Horological Society of New York has started a program called the “Working Watchmakers Grant” funded by donors and made available to watchmakers in the United States who have lost work due to the Coronavirus lockdowns. It will provide a bit of support to tide them over during these difficult times. GaryG shares the details with us here.
The point of the large watch fairs is (or was) the sheer scale of their visitor numbers. In no other venue can brands meet with so many clients, collectors and press, and vice versa. If a large fair is limited in visitor capacity by health restrictions, can it still dominate the launch cycles of big brands? Ian Skellern examines likely winners and losers of the brave new world of exhibitions in 2021.
Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor have just announced leaving Baselworld to create a new watch show in Geneva with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie’s Watches & Wonders. The show will be held in early April 2021 at Geneva’s Palexpo. This is going to be one interesting year full of new thoughts and ideas. Get out the popcorn!
With the two big Swiss fairs’ very existences hanging in the precipice thanks to past mistakes and the global pandemic COVID-19, and with no inkling of a clear way forward, Elizabeth Doerr looks at the turbulent first three months of 2020 and shares how brand managers are reacting to the ‘new normal.’