Watches & Wonders trade show sets up foundation

By

Gianluca Bolelli

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Oct 31, 2022

In the wake of the first edition of Watches & Wonders, held in Geneva in March 2022, Rolex, Richemont and Patek Philippe have decided to set up the Watches & Wonders Geneva Foundation, a non-profit corporation based in Geneva, Switzerland.

WWGF was created in September 2022 with the goal of promoting watchmaking excellence worldwide, by organising watches and jewellery trade shows, both in-person and in digital format, in Geneva and outside Switzerland.
 
WWGF will be run by a foundation council, with Jean-Frédéric Dufour as president and Emmanuel Perrin as vice-president. Together with the founding members, Dufour and Perrin will define the foundation’s main strategic guidelines. An exhibitors' committee, whose members will be drawn among the exhibitors’ representatives, will continue to control all aspects relating to the trade show’s smooth running. Matthieu Humair, currently CEO of Switzerland’s Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (the Swiss fine watchmaking foundation), will assume the same role at WWGF.

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The next edition of Watches & Wonders Geneva will be held from March 27 to April 2 2023, at the Palexpo exhibition centre in Geneva, with 49 exhibitors. For the first time, the show will be open to the public, during the weekend of Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 April 2023. Tickets will go on sale from the beginning of February 2023, exclusively online and priced at CHF70. The show’s first five days will be reserved for the media, retailers, and the exhibitors’ guests. The event’s full program will be announced in the near future. 
 
The exhibitors, strictly in alphabetical order, will be the following: A. Lange & Söhne, Alpina, Angelus, Arnold & Son, Baume & Mercier, Beauregard, Bell & Ross, Cartier, Chanel, Charles Zuber, Charriol, Chopard, Chronoswiss, Cyrus Genève, Czapek & Cie., Ferdinand Berthoud, Frédérique Constant, Grand Seiko, Grönefeld, Hautlence, Hermès, Hublot, Hysek, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Kerbedanz, Laurent Ferrier, Louis Moinet, Montblanc, Oris, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Patek Philippe, Pequignet, Piaget, Rebellion Timepieces, Ressence, Roger Dubuis, Rolex, Rudis Sylva, Speake-Marin, Tag Heuer, Trilobe, Tudor, U-Boat, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels and Zenith.