GTE 2012 will confirm the Fair's key role in the prestige watch sector, with many top manufacturers among the fifty brands taking part. All will be presenting their finest timepiece collections to professionals and connoisseurs of mechanical watches from Sunday 15–Friday 20 January 2012.
An international showcase for Swiss watchmaking excellence, in the city of watches par excellence: that's what the Geneva Time Exhibition is all about! Now in its third year, the Fair is further reinforcing the quality of its exhibitors with the arrival of top watchmakers from the Frédérique Constant group (Frédérique Constant, Alpina, Ateliers de Monaco).
‘We began re-assessing our positioning straight after GTE 2011' explains Florence Noël, the Fair's Director and Co-Founder. ‘In an increasingly competitive international environment, we decided to focus on our Fair's strongpoint: its appeal to collectors from around the world, who – just as they would at a top contemporary art fair – come to discover excellence and incredible diversity… only this time in the art of watchmaking, rather than paintings or sculpture!'
GTE called in leading communication experts to help develop its new identity: the Angie & Leo agency and GVA Studio, co-ordinated by Philippe Meyer (former head of Saatchi & Saatchi in Geneva). The result: a new, refined, contemporary Fair logo, accompanied by a powerful catch-phrase, The Art of Making Time, that asserts Geneva Time Exhibition's importance as a key event in the world of watchmaking.
GTE's repositioning is both strategic and geographic: in 2012 the Fair is moving to the Espace Hippomène, a renowned venue for prestigious events in the heart of Geneva's international district, with easy access to Palexpo and the city's de luxe lakeside hotels.
From 15-20 January 2012, the Fair will host fifty brands, each exhibiting their latest watch collections to some 5000 visitors from over 80 countries. The Fair's total floor area will exceed 2500m2.
With GTE's discreet atmosphere perfectly attuned to the world of luxury, the Fair's prestigious partners include Audi, Caviar House & Prunier, Laurent Perrier, Nespresso, and Sotheby's – Geneva Time Exhibition's traditional and leading partner.
GTE will again be staging the Superwatch Awards, launched in 2011 to tremendous acclaim and reserved exclusively for Fair exhibitors. There will be prizes in several different categories, with the winning watches selected by a high-powered jury of experts from the worlds of luxury and haute horlogerie.
Now Open to the Public!
GTE exhibitors include craftsmen, young brands and leading watch manufacturers – all united by the same passion for watchmaking excellence. And GTE 2012 will see the arrival of a number of prestigious brands, such as Frédérique Constant Group (Alpina, Ateliers de Monaco, Frédérique Constant).
The first five days of the Fair will be reserved for professional visitors – distributors, retailers, investors and private clients. Then, on Friday 20 January, exhibitors will have the chance to share their art and passion with the general public for the first time.
‘Meeting the public is especially important in a city like Geneva, where quality watchmaking is a long-established tradition' explains Florence Noël. ‘Watches are part of our culture and roots – a heritage all Genevois are rightly proud of!'
Geneva Time Exhibition –3rd Edition
Sunday 15–Friday 20 January 2012
Espace Hippomène
7 Avenue de Châtelaine
Switzerland
Sunday 15-Thursday 19 January: 10am–7pm
Friday open to the public 5pm
20 CHF per person
Free for under-12s
