Geneva Watch Days Return To Lakeshores In August 2023 With Nearly 40 Brands

If Watches & Wonders is, by far, the most important event of the year for the watch industry (because of the sheer number of exhibiting brands, participants and new models presented), another smaller yet highly interesting event has been taking place in watch-town since 2020. A different take on the watch salon, more relaxed, staged in lakeshore locations and open to the public, Geneva Watch Days will return again this year (29 August – 2 September) with almost 40 brands showcasing their latest releases at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc pavilion on Lake Geneva, as well as at boutiques and venues throughout the city. 

Geneva Watch Days started in 2020 as a modern, less institutional watch salon designed to give companies of all sizes a collaborative platform to showcase their work side by side. Created as an answer to lockdowns and the cancellation of Baselworld and SIHH-W&W, an antidote to (back then) difficult times for the watch industry, it was organised on the initiative of Bulgari’s CEO Jean-Christophe Babin and other brands (Breitling, Bulgari, De Bethune, Girard-Perregaux, H. Moser & Cie, MB&F, Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk). This self-managed, decentralised multi-brand event now seems essential in the watchmaking industry’s yearly agenda. But what makes GWD even more attractive for participants – brands, press, retailers and the public – is the setup: open to all, taking place at the end of summer (thus creating a second focal point for brands), relaxed and decentralised with exhibitions all around the lake, it carries a unique spirit that is radically different from the formality of Watches & Wonders.

Following editions in 2021 and 2022, Geneva Watch Days will return again this year, from 29 August to 2 September. And this year’s exhibition will be the biggest yet, with nearly 40 watch brands showcasing their latest releases at the pavilion next to Lake Geneva and at boutiques and multiple venues throughout the city.

This year’s exhibiting brands include Angelus, Armin Strom, Arnold & Son, Artime, Bausele, Bianchet, Breitling, Bulgari, Byrne, Konstantin Chaykin, Claude Meylan, Corum, Czapek, De Bethune, Doxa, Frederique Constant Group, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, Hautlence, HYT, Jacob & Co, Krayon, Laurent Ferrier, Louis Erard, Massena Lab, Maurice Lacroix, MB&F,  H. Moser & Cie, Oris, Perrelet, Phillips, Raketa, Reservoir, Ressence, Singer, Trilobe, Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk. And maybe some more will join later.

In addition to the official inauguration on Tuesday, 29 August, which will then be reserved for professionals, the following day, the pavilion will open daily to the public until Saturday, 2 September, when visitors can discover the participating brands’ latest novelties. On Saturday, 2 September, the salon opens its doors to the public with free admission, educational activities, and celebrations.

Official registration opens on Monday, 5 June. Save the date and stay tuned. For more details, please consult www.gva-watch-days.com.