- Could Made in China become the new Swiss Made?
- Watchmaking’s after-sales headache
- One World, One Dream
- The endless quest for watchmaking precision
- Looking back in wonder
- Magic meets emotion at the Spring watch fairs
- The Swiss watch industry is bursting at the seams
- History repeats itself…
- The ultimate luxury of a bespoke watch
- Swiss watchmaking is running after its lost generation
- Swiss watch brands take industrial action…
- The quest for the eternal watch
- Fine watchmaking, made in Germany
- From outer space to inside your watch
- All that glitters…
- Swiss Made in the spotlight
- Basel and Geneva have their finger on the industry’s pulse
- Distribution networks are a genuine open sesame for watchmakers
- 2006, a year of superlatives for the luxury watchmaking industry
- On the necessary industrialisation of Haute Horlogerie
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The SIHH, where everything is order, luxury and beauty…
The 17th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie takes place in Geneva from April 16th to 21st, 2007. Will the industry continue on the same high note on which it started the year? There is no better place than the intimate setting of the SIHH to find out…
Flavia Giovannelli
When it comes to the outlook for sales, the atmosphere at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) will undoubtedly be charged. Everyone knows the prestigious brands are the driving force behind exports overall… and the 16 brands present in Geneva (see table), 11 of which are part of the Richemont Group, all belong to this segment. And while the companies in question are reluctant to disclose exact figures, it is generally accepted that around three-quarters of sales are made at the spring shows.
It isn’t by chance that the SIHH is the main activity of the Events wing of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, a hive of activity since its creation in November 2005. As in previous years, the SIHH is expecting over 12,000 visitors from all over the world, including 5,400 retailers and 1,200 journalists. As for customers, 58% come from Europe, 23% from Asia, 15% from North and South America, and 5% from the Middle East.
An ideal City
The venue for the show concentrates on providing the prestigious setting one would expect to win over these demanding customers. Extended in 2005 and with a new decor, the SIHH covers almost 24,000 square metres, or all of Hall 6 and part of Hall 5 at Palexpo. The framework for the show was created by Milanese designer Giampiero Bodino and the team at Decorama, with more than 500 people to put it all together. This "City of Haute Horlogerie" as Franco Cologni once called it, fashions itself on Plato’s ideal city, with its pure and rigorously ordered orthogonal structure. Subtle beige tones, harmonious stands and a string of bars serving refreshments to visitors, comfortably seated in armchairs, at their convenience ensure that the SIHH really is the ultimate word in refinement. Regular visitors can rest assured they will find all the features they know and appreciate, as the decor, inaugurated in 2005, will remain unchanged until 2010. Not that this excludes the occasional improvement, such as the restyled press kiosk, with a new area set aside for journalists that caters even more closely to their needs.
A tribute to women
The thematic exhibition staged by Dominique Fléchon, a renowned historian and author of numerous specialist books who works for the Foundation, promises to be of special relevance this year. Indeed, Haute Horlogerie is paying tribute to women with watches loaned by the 16 exhibiting brands, all taken from collections from 2000 and after. They illustrate the three themes of Liberty, Harmony and Seduction.
Initial sales for 2007 have put a smile on brands’ faces; the SIHH promises them a fabulous atmosphere. ■
