Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022 Report [Part 2] Geneva on the right, Basel on the left!? And what about the "possibility of expansion" in 2023?

Watch Journalist Yasuhito Shibuya's Useful Watch Industry Chat

Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022, the Geneva watch fair, was held in person for the first time in three years, absorbing the major brands from Baselworld. As someone who managed to cover the fair, I'd like to share my thoughts on it. This article covers everything from the layout of the venue to the new character and future of the fair. As mentioned last time, this article was written in Geneva during an on-site visit in April 2022.

The luxurious atmosphere remains the same at "Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022"

　In this second report from the event, I would like to begin by explaining what this watch fair was like and how it differed from the two major watch fairs held until 2019, SIHH and Baselworld.

　The design and interior of the new "Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022" venue will essentially be the same as that of SIHH, which was held until 2019.

　The basic layout of the venue is the same as SIHH, with entrance gates and airport-like baggage inspection gates. The basic design of the booths is also the same as SIHH. However, the common areas other than the booths of individual watch brands have a much cleaner, simpler atmosphere.

　Let's take a look at the layout of the Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022 venue from a visitor's perspective.

　First, you have to collect your admission pass. In the past, press members would collect their passes at the reception counter inside the venue at SIHH, but for several years before 2019, they had to collect their passes in Japan.

　However, for Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022, each person received a QR code via email in advance, which they presented at the reception desk in a new prefabricated building outside the venue, across from the shuttle bus stop. There, they received their entrance pass. This prefabricated building also had a luggage storage and COVID-19 testing area.

　Once you receive your entrance pass, you can finally enter the Palexpo venue. At the first security gate, you remove your mask so your entire face is visible, then touch your pass to the sensor to pass through. Next, you pass through an airport-style X-ray baggage inspection and a gate equipped with a magnetic detector. Walk down the corridor to the left and you'll finally reach the entrance to the venue.

　First, on the left is the reception desk, behind which is a bookshop selling books on watches, and on the other side is a commemorative photo booth.

　What impressed me every year at SIHH before 2019 was that, in addition to the exhibitions of watch brands, there were also unique cultural exhibits that were typical of the FHH (Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie), the organizer whose goal is to promote and enlighten the culture of luxury watches.

　Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022 is also organized by the FHH, so it's no surprise that this policy has been firmly adhered to once again. Next to the bookshop was a showcase displaying an old French book titled "TRAITE DE L'HORLOGERIE MECHANIQUE ET PRATIQUE" (How to Handle Watches: Mechanisms and Practical Skills). This is an important and undoubtedly historical book in the field of horology.

　Continuing on, you'll see a pillar-shaped information board directly ahead, and behind it the "auditorium." This is the stage where the Key Note sessions are held, where CEOs of watch brands and others give speeches and present their new products. The hallway forms a T-junction in front of the auditorium, and the venue then splits into two sections, one to the right and one to the left.

On the right is the "Geneva Salon" and on the left is the "Mini Basel"

　Turning to the right, we entered the familiar world of SIHH: Baume & Mercier, IWC, Van Cleef & Arpels, Roger Dubuis, Piaget, A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Panerai, as well as Hermès, Parmigiani Fleurier, and Ulysse Nardin, all of which were exhibited at SIHH in 2019.

　Turning left, on the left side of the corridor is the "LAB" booth, which was also present at SIHH 2019 and displays new technologies being worked on by watch brands. To the right of that is the entrance to the "Carré des Horlogers" area, where independent brands gather. Further left, passing in front of the press restaurant and press center, the same scene as in the center of the main hall at the old Baselworld appears at the back.

　The familiar booths featuring Patek Philippe, Rolex/Tudor, and Chopard are set up in the same layout as at Baselworld.

　If you go further, you'll come to Chanel. Turn right there and you'll see Hublot right in front of you. Turn right again and you'll see Oris and Grand Seiko on the right. On the left are the Zenith and Tag Heuer booths. However, the design of these booths is a familiar style at SIHH.

　This is what this year's Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022 looked like. In other words, although there were fewer brands from the former Baselworld group exhibiting, the event was held as an integrated event of the two fairs, Geneva and Basel, in other words, a "SIHH plus mini Baselworld."