Elizabeth Doerr was (and remains) one of Baselworld’s staunchest supporters. For purely selfish reasons, of course: the fact that practically everything was in one location made her life as a watch journalist so much easier. Here she reflects on why she misses Baselworld and why Watches and Wonders isn’t enough to maintain balanced journalism.
As GaryG prepares for his trip to Switzerland for Watches and Wonders 2022, the demise of Baselworld is very much on his mind. It seems to him that the era of all-inclusive mega watch shows is rapidly coming to an end.
The natural implication is that Watches and Wonders Geneva will be the next exhibition to change radically or that it will even cease to exist. Here he explains why.
More than a century of history of Baselworld, the world’s biggest and most comprehensive watch fair, is virtually impossible to sum up in just a few lines. However, that is what Elizabeth Doerr does here as she looks back over 102 years of Baselworld history and reflects on what happens next. Hopefully that is, “Pack your bags for Houruniverse 2021.”
Watchbox’s energetic Tim Mosso chats with Elizabeth Doerr about the watch industry in the time of crisis, and the two share views on canceled trade shows, the increased importance of the internet, how brands might weather the storm, and much more.
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.’
The news broke like a hurricane on the morning of February 27, 2020: Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH) has been canceled for 2020. In the words of Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe, “The future of the fairs is already [hanging] in the balance – to cancel them [this year] is really bad news for them, and for Baselworld in particular.” Read on for more of his opinion.
As Joshua Munchow looks back over 2019, he is reminded what an exciting year it has been in the world of watches – from changes to the major fairs and exhibitions to corporate acquisitions and right on down to surprising launches from brands. There was definitely enough to keep us on our toes.
As SIHH rebrands to become Watches & Wonders Geneva, it becomes apparent that the trade fairs are morphing into something new and perhaps unexpected. Elizabeth Doerr takes a look at the latest from SIHH and Baselworld.