SIHH 2016: H-Hour

The fair is also an opportunity for the professionals of the industry to get a look at the novelties of twenty-four major companies and elicit the trends that will define the market for at least for the year.

2016 marks a real turning point in the history of the SIHH in Geneva. After a quarter century spent celebrating classic luxury, the second quarter of this must-go event for anyone with a real love of fine mechanical watches opens with the arrival of nine newcomers who are, at any rate, well known to fans in the know.When the SIHH began in 1991, it featured five brands. But it has continuously attracted a growing number of renowned brands, and for this edition it allowed younger companies that had earned their spurs in past years – and which had previously been gravitating near the exhibition hall – to join the big names for this timeless moment.

Over the years, that group of five watchmaking brands grew last year to sixteen. Proof that history is not frozen in time, the Salon, always a hub of convergence, decided to undergo a real transformation by integrating the lead actors of the movement professionals call "nouvelle horlogerie."These companies are gathered in a space referred to as the "Carré des horlogers " (Watchmakers' Square). Their claim to fame is having a very original view of how to display time, and so they have now become members of the great family of haute horlogerie brands. Ordained, now, they should benefit from the upwind generated by the focus in this time capsule not only of the best and most powerful watch distributors in the business, but also of the upper-crust of specialized media representatives.

The SIHH 2016 is an event to follow daily on Watchonista.

Front picture: ©point-of-views.ch

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