In my short speech as founder of GMT Publishing, which owns the site, I recalled that WorldTempus was co-founded in 2001 by 30 watch brands – all of which were represented that evening – and by two entrepreneurs, including Jean-Claude Pittard, who was also among the guests. Along with our Editor in Chief, Suzanne Wong, we interviewed him at the beginning of the month and he explained to us that his goal at the time was to create a watch encyclopedia. I hope he is proud of how far his initiative has come!
Since then, WorldTempus has published more than 30,000 articles and is the world's largest open-access watch database with 25,000 watches online. Every month, more than 500,000 people learn about watches on WorldTempus. In this 20th anniversary year, WorldTempus will pass the milestone of 20 million page views per year. For this I must thank the 80 brands that show their trust in us year-round, as well as my entire WorldTempus team, 14 people who work daily to share our passion for watches with as many people as possible.
Before handing the mike back to Raymond Loretan, I wanted to thank him and the GPHG director Carine Maillard for having suggested we organize this joint party, as well as the sponsors of WorldTempus who made this event possible. Lambert Fils et Fille which has been supporting our parties since 2018; Goldmund which is to the audio world what the minute repeater is to fine watchmaking; the Origyn Foundation which helps fight counterfeiting; and ShowCase which is revolutionizing interaction in remote watch presentations.
Along with the Live Teams agency, which has been organizing GMT parties for the past five years, we had prepared a vacation atmosphere for our guests in the beautiful room on the lower floor – complete with DJ, Laurent Perrier champagne, good Swiss wines and tasty nibbles by Philippe Chevrier awaiting guests as soon as the speeches were over! Thanks to everyone for the great mood that prevailed.
