What a Show!

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What a Show! - Editorial
2 minutes read
The Watchmaking Community Unites at Genevaworld

One week after the close of this incredible watchmaking week, the report is largely positive among the vast majority of exhibitors and visitors, who represented nearly 50,000 people in total. The WorldTempus team covered the event, from start to finish, realizing a series of video reviews on our Youtube channel.

After a somewhat complicated couple of years that we have all lived through, experiencing the 2023 edition from the inside brought a feeling of joy and fulfillment, all the more as it proved to be extremely intense and exciting. From the first to the last day, all the actors and spectators of this continuous ballet appreciated the amazing atmosphere that reigned in Geneva, from the banks of the lake to Palexpo (where Watches and Wonders took place), passing by the HEAD (where Time to Watches was held) and the hotels and capsule shows, such as the Barton space chosen by some brands. 

What a Show!

Bravo

The barometer of this general satisfaction matches that of the official statistics announced by the organisers, with 43,000 visitors to Watches and Wonders (double that of 2022) and 5,800 to Time to Watches. The public, which has long been kept on the sidelines, but has been courted by Geneva Watch Days since August 2020, also responded extremely positively. All 12,000 Watches and Wonders tickets, for the weekend public days, were sold out in advance. Another first (initially planned for 2020, but cancelled due to the health crisis), Watches & Wonders was also available in an “In the City” version on Thursday, where the public was invited to visit the boutiques to see the new products and enjoy cocktails. There was also entertainment in the streets of the city centre, so the magic worked! 

Even if the last edition of Baselworld in 2019 attracted 82,000 visitors, who came to see around 500 exhibitors (including subcontractors and the jewellery sector), the atmosphere of the show was tainted by discontentment and would ultimately mark the end of the event that had been going since 1917. Let’s hope that these 50,000 visitors, delighted by the hundred or so watchmaking exhibitors, will want to come back next year and that Geneva avoids the mistakes of Basel and Genevaworld will gain in importance.

What a Show!

Equals without Ego

At GMT Publishing, we loved meeting the dozens of brands and admiring hundreds upon hundreds of watches, writing tons of articles, and shooting numerous videos (see the daily reports on our YouTube channel). We were happy to talk face-to-face with our WorldTempus contributors from the four corners of the globe and to welcome GMT franchises from Africa, Korea, India, and the Middle East into the group. In all, our editorial teams on the ground at the fairs numbered around 30 people, out of 1,400 accredited journalists. As head of GMT Publishing, I am very proud of them and thank them for their unfailing commitment. You will definitely be hearing more from them soon as they digest everything that they have seen and bring you even more content to discover!

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