Yesterday, Girard-Perregaux announced that they will be returning to Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in 2017. This fair, which takes place every year in January, is run by Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.
“As a founding member of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, Girard-Perregaux naturally regains its position alongside the most prestigious brands of Haute Horlogerie,” said Antonio Calce, CEO of Girard-Perregaux. In their press release, Girard-Perregaux don’t tell us why they are moving from Baselworld to SIHH (assuming that they won’t be exhibiting at both shows), and neither do they tell us anything about Jeanrichard, also part of the Kering Group and notably absent from Baselworld in 2016.
SIHH is dominated by brands in the Richemont Group – A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Other brands that exhibit regularly at SIHH are Audemars Piguet, Greubel Forsey, Parmigiani Fleurier and Richard Mille. In 2016, for the first time, nine independent watchmakers also exhibited on smaller stands in the “Carré del Horlogers”: Christophe Claret, De Bethune, H. Moser & Cie, Hautlence, HYT, Kari Voutilainen, Laurent Ferrier, MB&F, and Urwerk.
Another new feature at SIHH 2016 was the absence of Ralph Lauren. From 2009 the brand had been exhibiting as the Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Co., a 50% joint venture with the Richemont Group.
SIHH was first held in 1991, when five exhibitors – Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Piaget, Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth – left Baselworld. The SIHH show ran concurrently with what was then called the Basel Fair (founded in 1917 as the Schweizer Mustermesse Basel, and restricted to only Swiss exhibitors up until 1986). By 1999, these brands had been joined by Audemars Piguet, Bovet, Breguet, JeanRichard, Girard-Perregaux watch price and Perrelet.
Over the next three years, the major watch groups coalesced. Breguet became part of Swatch Group, and Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta were purchased by Bulgari, and so they all left SIHH and moved back to Baselworld. The Richemont Group arrived, with its new acquisitions A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Van Cleef & Arpels. In 2009, SIHH decided to move the date of the show earlier, to January.
The next edition of SIHH will take place from 16 to 20 January 2017, at Palexpo in Geneva.
