SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever

SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever Shows & Events

SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever Shows & Events

Are we pumped for SIHH 2018 yet? Just like the “holiday shopping season” and beginning around the same time, it seems like the new-product announcements get earlier every year. With still more than a month to go, the 2018 models that we will get to see in Geneva in January have already started coming in. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) watch industry trade show, just like its organizing body the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), has continued to grow and evolve each year, adding more brands as well as a day where the show is open to the public for the first time in 2017 – this time around, it will be Friday, January 19th, 2018. Now with a total of 35 brands, SIHH 2018 promises even more variety than in previous years.

SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever Shows & Events

You already know that SIHH is one of the two most important events for the Most Expensive A Lange And Sohne Watches industry, as its exhibitors – while much fewer than at the biggest industry trade show, Baselworld – represent many major and influential brands, and this is the time of year when they introduce their most important new products. Vis-à-vis Baselworld – where around 300 brands represent the breadth of the watch industry from high-end and mainstream to obscure startups – SIHH has always carefully maintained an image of exclusivity and “prestige.”

So, while a few brands do introduce models in the “mid-level luxury” range that the average person might be able to consider saving up for and possibly actually wearing… you can expect a lot of skeletonization, avant-garde designs, artisanal techniques and haute horology finishing, “high complications,” precious materials, and stratospheric prices. Haute horlogerie is in the name, after all. It has largely been a spectator’s show for fans of high-end watchmaking, but with recent industry trends emphasizing more “down-to-earth” (it’s all relative) models, some balance and variety can at least be hoped for.

SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever Shows & Events

SIHH 2018’s 35 Exhibiting Brands

The Richemont Group along with some independent brands long represented the handful of SIHH exhibitors. However, the show’s 2016 edition added a “Carré des Horlogers” section with nine “artisan-creators and independent workshops” and expanded that number in 2017. This year, the Carré des Horlogers brands are up to no fewer than 17, with the primary exhibitors (referred to as “Historic Maisons”) at 18 for a total, again, of 35. The primary exhibitors are joined by Hermes, and the Carré des Horlogers adds five brands with Armin Strom, DeWitt, Ferdinand Berthoud, Élégante by F.P.Journe, and Romain Gauthier. See the full list of exhibitors in the image above.

SIHH 2018 Will Feature Public Day & More Exhibitors Than Ever Shows & Events

In reaction to receiving the message in the public that they want to have more value in their own watches, the industry has simply gone out and began to produce less costly watches. This is logical, however it misconstrues the issue. The main reason is that they’re simply making lower-priced watches which frequently simply suck. Several have potential, but cost-cutting approaches in both materials and construction are glaringly obvious in watches from all but the most detail-obsessed brands. Allow me to clarify what the business seems to have misunderstood — people did not request cheaper watches. There’s a major difference.Why do industry decision-makers think that a $10,000 A.Lange & Sohne Pocket Watches Price which feels like a $5,000 watch will have any greater difficulty in being marketed compared to a $4,000 watch that feels like a $1,000 watch? The issue on the cost-cutting side of the sector is that watches don’t feel as though they are worth what brands are charging for them — and I am not even going to bring up the gray market within this discussion. If folks complain of “greed” and “stupidity” in the watch business — what they are really referring to is creating watches that nobody wants to buy for the purchase price. There happen to be legions upon legion of inexpensive watches out there which connoisseurs would never be interested in. Why, then, do “prestigious” watch brands seem intent on after this model?There isn’t even a precedent for this approach. Their sole argument in defense of the practice of selling cheap watches for a whole lot of money is that they can try to make up for it in branding and marketing (like star ambassadors, etc.). Once again, this can be a very clear sign of someone who doesn’t understand how to evaluate a good watch, making decisions about making watches. Rolex, for example, does blanket the market with marketing messages, but they also happen to provide an industry-leading product concerning general quality for the cost. Why, then, would anyone buy a non-Rolex opinion of reduced intrinsic quality for the same or even more money? Other than “they want something different,” I’ve yet to hear a good answer to this.Even though new models (shown to media) from several watch brands were limited this season, there are a number of standout models which defy the standard and offer excellent artistic craftsmanship or appealing layouts and approachable value propositions. No matter what your budget is, there is something new for you to be excited about from SIHH 2017. Notably at the lower-end (regarding cost), there is actually something new to report on from SIHH, even though the series is more commonly associated with releasing items of amazing beauty and complexity, but typically at prices just the world’s elite can strive to manage.

From a media perspective, Baselworld has tended to spread our resources very thinly in past years with simply too much to cover at once, so with some prominent brands having moved from Baselworld to SIHH, we can hope for some balance between the shows. Around 20,000 visitors are expected this year, and the FHH promises improved facilities and connectivity in order to make our job of bringing you high quality content more efficient – so we’ll see what that’s like in January. That’s just a glimpse into our point of view in preparing for the show.

We’ll continue providing news of new products ahead of the show – if mostly only renders and official product images from the brands with basic information before being able to see the watches in person to photograph and evaluate them in their glorious and gritty reality. SIHH 2018 runs from January 15th to the 19th, and again, the last day is open to the public with tickets on sale at the SIHH website. sihh.org