Countdown to Switzerland 2020: Baselworld and SIHH plan to synchronise their annual watch fairs
The world’s two biggest watch events will start each April, one after the other, until 2024 – a move that follows a fall in the number of Baselworld exhibitors
Well, this one caught us by surprise.
Starting from 2020, Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) and Baselworld, the two biggest watch events in the world, will be synchronising their calendars.
SIHH will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 26 to 29, while Baselworld will take place in the city from April 30 to May 5. The calendars will remain the same until 2024.
“Our two events have always been different, yet complementary,” Fabienne Lupo, president and managing director of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, which organises SIHH, says.
“Resynching with Baselworld will further confirm Switzerland as the foremost destination for watchmaking in the world.”
Our two events have always been different, yet complementary. Resynching [SIHH] with Baselworld will further confirm Switzerland as the foremost destination for watchmaking in the world
Michel Loris-Melikoff, who became the managing director of Baselworld this year, says: “We have sought dialogue with the SIHH and together have found a solution, which benefits visitors, the media, and the entire watchmaking industry enormously.
This partnership between the two most prominent exhibitions in the industry represents a major breakthrough for the future
“This partnership between the two most prominent exhibitions in the industry represents a major breakthrough for the future.”
How much of an affect this joint effort will have on either fair remains to be seen.
At the very least, it will mean internationally based exhibitors, retailers and even journalists will need to plan one trip to cover the two fairs.
