Watches & Wonders 2020 to take place online from April 25

It’s been a hectic past week for the luxury watch industry. On April 14, a few of the world’s biggest brands including Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard announced that they were leaving the Baselworld watch exhibition, and instead would set up their own event alongside Watches & Wonders (W&W) in Geneva next April.

Read: Rolex, Patek Philippe and Chopard, among others, leave Baselworld

On April 17, the LVMH Watchmaking division announced that it too was pulling all it brands including TAG Heuer, Zenith, Hublot and Bvlgari out of Baselworld and that it was considering a revised event format also alongside W&W.

Read: LVMH’s TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith confirm exit from Baselworld

While Baselworld had already decided to postpone their 2020 fair to January next year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, for rival watch exhibition W&W which was supposed to have its on-ground annual event in Geneva this week, the show must go on – albeit without a physical show, but instead an online exhibition of the novelties.

The Fondation de la haute Horlogerie (FHH), the organizing body of W&W, have said that 30 brands will showcase its novelties on a dedicated online platform on April 25 at 12pm CET (2pm UAE time).

A statement from the FHH said: “A breakthrough digital platform will be unveiled at watchesandwonders.com, a centralised portal where watch enthusiasts, retailers and journalists from around the world will be able to experience the fine watchmaking universe, as well as the newest watches of the year and connect directly with the 30 participating brands.”

On the first day of the online fair, watch exhibitors will stream 10-minute videos on the platform introducing its novelties for the year.

As a Richemont-driven event, the online W&W platform is expected to include brands like Cartier, A. Lange & Söhne, IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

The statement added: “The FHH is also curating a broad range of expert and educational content for the site, including product analysis, trend forecasts, technological innovation and in-depth explorations of design, artistry and craft, as well as business talks and commentary from industry notables.”

In the second phase of the new platform launch that will be rolled out in the summer of this year, FHH plans on integrating e-commerce on the website to allow participating brands to sell their watches too.

The FHH has said that this virtual exhibition is a format that will continue for subsequent annual editions of the Watches & Wonders exhibition and will take place alongside on-ground annual event including the next one scheduled for April 2021 in Geneva.