Watches and Wonder Geneva is moving forward with a hybrid model for its 2022 edition.
This year’s show, which begins in-person and online on March 30, will have 38 exhibiting brands. According to the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, organizer of the show, the hybrid concept has been designed to adapt to the changing circumstances brought on by the pandemic by combining an actual physical exhibition, which respects health measures, with digital solutions that meet market expectations.
Organizers reported that press presentations have been entirely redesigned so that they can be followed either in-person or online, continuing to focus on products.
The week also will be full of new events, live broadcasts and discussion panels to help round out the experience.
The press program will include three new presentation formats to facilitate the dissemination of news, both online and at the show. Throughout the week, the exhibiting companies will hold keynote sessions, announcements and speeches — mostly by brand leaders and ambassadors — that will be broadcast live to the general public on the digital platform and on social media. The 2022 show will see meetings with large groups of journalists replaced by “Touch & Feel” sessions of around 10 people, putting products and discussions at center stage, with digital product presentations enabling journalists who cannot travel to Geneva to keep on top of all the watch and jewelry news remotely.
While watch show Baselworld was meant to return in 2022 with a new concept, it canceled at the end of last year, but Watches and Wonder Geneva has persevered through the global pandemic, emerging as the dominant space for the luxury watch category to unveil products.
Some of the brands exhibiting include Cartier, Tag Heuer, Hublot, A. Lange & Söhne, Chanel, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Piaget, among others.
The show concludes on April 5.