When Fabienne Lupo, who runs the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie watch fair in Geneva, says its ambition is “to become a kind of Davos of watchmaking”, this is not just an airy ambition of hers.
By comparing SIHH, which opened this week, to the World Economic Forum at Davos, with its political and corporate heavyweight guests and policy-setting discussions, Ms Lupo is continuing the polarisation between her more exclusive fair and Baselworld, the commercial engine of the watch world.
Part of this ambition is about SIHH’s exhibitors, which already include Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre. (SIHH started as luxury group Richemont’s riposte to Basel.) The exhibitors have become more prestigious this year with the defection of high-end maison Hermès from Baselworld (see box).