Watch Journalist Yasuto Shibuya's Helpful Watch Industry Chat
After 12 years, the irritating feud has finally come to an end. SIHH and Baselworld will once again be held jointly from 2020.
At 1:00 a.m. on December 19, 2018, Japan time (5:00 p.m. on the 18th, Swiss time), I was sitting in front of my computer late at night, which was unusual for me, when I received an email from Baselworld with a press release.
"Starting in 2020, SIHH and Baselworld, the two major events in the watch industry, will align their calendars..."
2020 will mark the first time in 12 years that the two events will return to being held together, rather than separately. Those of us who are (or have become) veterans of the watch industry are probably thinking, "Finally! Why couldn't this have happened sooner?"
Some readers may not know this, but from before I began covering Swiss watches in 1995 until 2008, SIHH and the Basel Fair (now Baselworld) overlapped each year, from mid- to late April (sometimes ending in early May). SIHH began in 1991 when Cartier would fly clients from the Basel Fair to Geneva. Even after the two fairs became independent, the two continued to discuss the timing of the fairs, taking into account the convenience of buyers, retailers, and press from around the world. The schedule allowed visitors to see both fairs on a single trip to Switzerland. However, in 2008, SIHH announced that it would be held in January 2009. Covering the two major watch fairs required two separate trips, in January and March, which doubled the airfare.
The reason for this was extremely inconvenient for members of the press like me, especially freelance members of the press. It was a dispute over the timing of the fair, driven by the intentions of the two fair organizers and exhibitors, who said, "Buyers have limited purchasing budgets. Whoever can invite buyers first has an advantage, so we want to hold the fair as early as possible."
When I first covered the two major fairs in 1995, SIHH came first and Basel Fair came second. In 2008, the last year that the two fairs were held together, Baselworld came first and SIHH came second. The order of the fairs changes every few years, and when one fair came to an end, buyers, retailers, and press would travel across Switzerland by train or car to the other fair.
In 2009, SIHH was held in mid- to late January. The reason for moving it up from the usual March date was due to the annual schedule of the Palexpo, the international exhibition center where it is held. The Geneva Motor Show is also held there every March. This made it difficult to hold the event before Baselworld in mid-March, even if they had wanted to. So, it was decided to hold it in January, when the venue was less crowded, even though it was cold.
But the very existence of watch fairs is now being questioned. Their hollowing out, or even their possible cancellation or disappearance, could put an end to the success of the Swiss watch industry that has continued since the 1990s.
Furthermore, the battle for orders for new watches is no longer taking place primarily at the fairs. Thanks to shortened development schedules and dramatic improvements in logistics, many new watch purchases are now made well before the fairs. For example, it is not uncommon for presentations and orders for models scheduled for release in 2019 to be completed by the end of 2018.
In this situation, it would be wiser and necessary to shake hands and prepare to welcome buyers, retailers and the press together, rather than continuing to fight as before.
The two major watch fairs and their exhibiting brands have finally come to this conclusion.
There have been rumors of the two major watch fairs being held together since around 2017, and I had a faint hope, but to be honest, I never thought it would actually happen. It's a great news and a blessing for overseas buyers, retailers, and members of the press like me. I welcome it.
However, there is one concern: the shortened duration of the event remains.
What should a watch fair be like in this limited time? What should be shown, how should it be shown, and what should be communicated? It is undoubtedly time to reconsider.
This may sound old-fashioned, but for me, the value and appeal of a watch fair, and the reason for attending one, is to feel with my whole body the atmosphere and craftsmanship behind the creation of Swiss watches, something that cannot be conveyed through online videos, at the fair venue or at the manufacturing sites I visit before and after the fair. This is because it is there that luxury is born.
Since the two fairs are now connected, I hope that each fair will be able to provide such an experience in its own way, even if it takes time and gradually.
