It’s going to feel a bit like entering Hall 1 of Baselworld in 2019.
Swatch Group’s brands will not be present, as was the case in Baselworld’s final years, but Rolex and Patek Philippe, plus the full set of LVMH brands, TAG Heuer, Hublot, Zenith and now Bulgari, will gather at for Watches and Wonders Geneva from April 1 to 7 in 2025.
Bulgari is not the only newcomer to the growing Watches and Wonders roster. There are also six additional independent brands: Christiaan van der Klaauw, Genus, Kross Studio and MeisterSinger are appearing at Watches and Wonders for the first time, while Armin Strom and HYT are making a comeback.
That takes the total to 60 exhibitors who will present to retailers and press for the first four days before the doors to Geneva’s Palexpo are thrown open to ticket-holding punters from April 5 to 7.
The line-up of brands may be familiar, but Watches and Wonders organisers are hinting that there could be a new look to the show. “Bulgari, along with independent brands, will gather together in a specially redesigned setting,” we are told.
Watches and Wonders is run by the non-profit Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation (WWGF), which was created in 2022 by Rolex, Richemont and Patek Philippe. Chanel, Hermès and LVMH were given seats on the board last year. Almost 50,000 trade professionals, journalists and clients attended the show last year.
There will be a theme of “Youth” at the 2025 event, with brands encouraged to highlight the work of their best apprentices, recent graduates and craftspeople.
This will spill out into the city of Geneva, with young professionals presenting their at a Watchmaking Village. There will also be guided tours, events, discovery workshops, conferences and panel discussions on themes linked to the younger generation.
No mention is made by WWGF of brands taking up residence in hotel suites by Lake Geneva.
Despite the foundation wanting the whole city to come alive for a celebratory week of watchmaking, these brands were labelled as “pirates” by Jean-Frederique Dufour last year in his capacity as chair of WWGF, as they benefited from the investment Watches and Wonders exhibitors make to pay for journalists and others to be in Geneva for the main show, without contributing to the cost.
High profile absentees from the 2025 event include all of Swatch Group’s brands, with Omega the highest profile. Audemars Piguet and Breitling are also still still missing, as is Girard-Perregaux, despite its Sowind Group stablemate Ulysse Nardin participating.
However, the line-up has never been stronger, and will arguably be the greatest watch show of the past decade in Switzerland since pre-pandemic there were separate events in January for SIHH and March for Baselworld.
Among the top 20 biggest Swiss watchmakers by turnover (estimated by Morgan Stanley and LuxConsult), Omega, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, Longines, Breitling, Tissot and Swatch are not taking part.
Watches and Wonders 2025 exhibitor list
A. Lange & Söhne, Alpina Watches, Angelus, Armin Strom, Arnold & Son, Artya Watches, Baume & Mercier, Bell & Ross, Bremont, Bulgari, Cartier, Chanel, Charriol, Chopard, Christiaan Van Der Klaauw, Chronoswiss, Cyrus Genève, Czapek & Cie, Eberhard & Co., Ferdinand Berthoud, Frederique Constant, Genus, Gerald Charles, Grand Seiko, Grönefeld, H. Moser & Cie., Hautlence, Hermès, Hublot, Hysek, HYT, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Kross Studio, Laurent Ferrier, Louis Moinet, Meistersinger, Montblanc, Nomos Glashütte, Norqain, Oris, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Patek Philippe, Pequignet, Piaget, Raymond Weil, Ressence, Roger Dubuis, Rolex, Rudis Sylva, Speake Marin, TAG Heuer, Trilobe, Tudor, U-Boat, Ulysse Nardin, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels and Zenith.