Dear IDMA Members and Industry colleagues,

This week, “Watch and Wonders,” the annual exhibition of the Swiss luxury watch industry, is held this month in Geneva, Switzerland. This new show was created by a consortium of watch brands soon after the demise of the (famous/infamous, take your pick) century-old Baselworld luxury watch exhibition. At this new show, 54 luxury watch brands exhibit this season’s highlights and unveil their new lines and inventions to trade professionals, dealers, watch collectors, journalists, and the public.

In an article (see below), Rob Corder, WatchPro co-founder and editor-in-chief, said Rolex long-time CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour rarely “gives interviews, but on the eve of W&W opening in Geneva, he told Swiss newspaper NZZ that he had visited Nick Hayek and other members of his family, with a view to Swatch Group brands taking their place alongside more than 50 watchmakers at this year’s event.”

Corder quoted from a lengthy interview published on the website of the Swiss, German-language Neue Zurcher Zeitung that offered a rare insight into why the new show is working so well and how the new exhibition was established, structured, and financed.

Here are a few – paraphrased - excerpts:

• “We need to speak with one voice. In our business, we all know one another. But in the world out there, we’re much less known.
• In good times, it is easy to produce a lot. However, when the market is low, it is a mistake to offer discounts. 
• We sell dreams. As long as we continue to do so, nobody can dictate for what price we should sell our product.
• I don’t like to compare [luxury] watches to e.g., shares. It sends the wrong message. We sell a product that has [inherent] value.
• Salon Watch & Wonders is a not-for-profit foundation that works to increase awareness of luxury watches worldwide.
• We try to keep [the participation] fees as low as possible. One half [the larger watch firms] pays for the other half [the small independent watch brands].
• Independent, small watchmakers pay between CHF 45,000 to CHF 80,000 to have access to traders, journalists, and consumers [45,000 visitors in total] for seven days.
• This show is not only about brands. It is about craftsmanship, about a rich history, about a product that lives on. A product, mind you, that could one day also disappear…”

Something to think about!

Have a great weekend!

Ya'akov Almor,

Communications Director

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