Switzerland is a weird place to see watches. To be clear, this is not a value judgment about buying watches in the historical home of watchmaking, nor the appeal of fine watches to Swiss people, for whom watchmaking is an inextricable part of everyday life. Instead, the disquietude is about why Swiss watchmaking is famous in the first place, which is really an accident of history. Just think back on the kerfuffle about "Swiss Made" just a few years ago; it all feels much more important to outsiders than to the Swiss. Much like the banking and pharmaceutical sectors here though, you cannot expect the Swiss to be emotionally vested in these areas because they are a part of the landscape, which visitors rave about. One does not, for example, drone on about one's home - when it comes to watchmaking, the Swiss leave it to watch bores to do that. The editors of WOW Singapore and Thailand certainly qualify for this, although it should be noted that WOW Malaysia is the edition that goes out of its way to run publicity on travel and tourist attractions in Switzerland.
Watches and Wonders Geneva finds the editor of WOW Singapore ruminating (visually, on IG Reels) on how lucky the Swiss are to have a veritable legion of tourism officers in the form of watch enthusiasts. Now in its second year of being a physical watch fair, Watches and Wonders Geneva did not disappoint in drawing the crowds and the brands, underscoring the limitations of digital events and uncoordinated physical novelty presentations. While Rolex and Patek Philippe are blessed with a surfeit of popularity, such that their stands at the big Geneva show are literally mobbed in the opening hours of the first day, other brands depend on these stars to draw the crowds.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 69-utgaven av WOW Singapore.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Worth Its Weight
TAG Heuer scored an unexpected win with the Carrera Chronograph Skipper in the recent past, so the brand returned it to regular production in steel last year. For 2024, red gold marks the Skipper's triumph
When Imitation Is Criminal
In the second part of our special on the phenomenon of counterfeiting in watchmaking, we look at some surprising reasons behind consumer demand
The Conversation: Greater Expectations
With Geneva Watch Week behind us, the editors exchange views on the novelty showcases, the novelties themselves and all the watch news that is fit to print and some that is not)
GOLDEN HOURS
The first timekeepers may not have been cased in any precious metal but, given how precious time is, gold and silver soon made their marks here
FINE TIME
Precious metals promise to put the fine’ back into fine watchmaking, after years of being overshadowed by more prosaic materials. This special section continues the journey we began last issue, with a deep dive into that most desirable of all metals, gold. Of course, platinum is also back...
RED DAWN
Grand Seiko celebrates the 20th birthday of Spring Drive with a special edition Chronograph GMT SBGC275 with a unique dial
NEW DEPTHS
Breguet surprises with the gem-set Marine Chronograph 5529, opening up new vistas for the collection
NEW AND NOTED
As you might expect, we have been covering Watches and Wonders Geneva since it began as a physical fair in 2022 and of course when it was confined to the ether, from 2020.
OPEN SEASON
The world's biggest and most important watch fair gets a little bigger and a little better. As for the watches, they got more than a little precious...
GREAT LEAP FORWARD
With the Portugieser Eternal Calendar, WC demonstrates its mastery in the realms of the calendar and moon phase complications
