SIHH Geneva posts visitor record

Visitors gather at the IWC booth, during the open day at the SIHH watch fair in Geneva Keystone

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) – a luxury watch fair in Geneva – has concluded on a successful note, with a record number of almost 20,000 visitors, the organisers have said.

In a statement on FridayExternal link, the SIHH said that the number of visitors, which is up 20% on 2017, heralded “a promising year for Fine Watchmaking”.

There were 35 watch exhibitors, compared with 30 in 2017 and just 16 three years ago, it continued. There were also 2,500 visitors to the open day – the salon is normally reserved for the exhibitors and media – on Friday, around the same as last year. There was also more interest on social media, the communique said.

Fabienne Lupo, President and Managing Director of the SIHH, said that the event’s new approach, which focuses on connecting people, had “proven its worth”.  

The SIHH is considered a rival to Baselworld, the biggest watch and jewellery fair in the world. However, as reported in November 2017, Baselworld is slowing down, with between 600 to 700 exhibitors expected in 2018, down from 1,300 in 2017. The 2017 figure was already down by 200 on 2016. This drop was attributed to the economic challenges facing the watch industry and competition from SIHH Geneva.

+ Find out more about the two watch fairs here.