Geneva watch fair Watches & Wonders cancelled due to Coronavirus

The dream is over. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), which was launched this year as Watches & Wonders, will be cancelled. Actually, the fair should have taken place between 25 – 29 April. In a short statement, the organisers of the fair stated that the fair was cancelled “to protect the health and well-being of the guests, the press, the partners and the teams”. It seems that the further global spread and the inevitable arrival of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Europe, has forced the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie to take this step.

This year, the fair would present itself in a new, more modern look for the 30th time. The plan was to open its doors to the wider public for the very first time. The city and the canton itself were also to be more deeply involved, and the rich history of Geneva and its immense influence on the watchmaking world, were to be illuminated more brightly.

A total of 31 watch brands would have presented themselves at the fair. Ultimately, the illustrious brands of the Richemont Group (such as Cartier, A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Vacheron Constantin and many more) will now be required to wait for next year, as do all watch fans.

After the cancellation of Swatch Groups “Time to Move” in Zurich, which was also the result of Coronavirus, it remains to be seen how the creators of the world’s largest watch fair, Baselworld, will react to this crisis. The show is scheduled to run from April 30 to May 5 in Basel.