Watches and Wonders behind the scenes: building the world’s biggest watch fair

As Watches and Wonders 2023, the latest iteration of the annual watchmaking extravaganza, prepares to open its doors in Geneva, we talk to CEO of the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation, Matthieu Humair, on what has inspired this year’s design.

‘We wanted to create an atmosphere which really enables visitors to dive into the world of watchmaking,’ Humair tells us. ‘But we also need to let all the participants in the zone express themselves, so our platform has to have this homogeneous atmosphere, and let each maison shine. That's really our intention. We see the different universes of each maison when they enter the different specific spaces of each brand, and we need to give each one the same visibility. So this is very important in the design and the concept, letting visitors go on a circular journey where there's not one brand hidden by another.’

Watches and Wonders behind the scenes

The event at the Palexpo, uniting almost 50 brands, is this year also accompanied by a programme taking place throughout the city of Geneva, the culmination of the close relationship cultivated with the partaking brands. ‘We work closely with them all year long,’ Humair adds, ‘once they are ready to present their concept to us; the first meeting is usually in summer for the next edition in spring. So it's a lot of anticipation and close collaboration: there's the design concept, but also technical aspects to take into account.’

As well as the brands’ own booths, the space encompasses communal areas. ‘We have more than 20,000 visitors joining in the five first days that are b2b; we need to provide a space that allows them to work in the best possible way,’ Humair says. ‘They all need to have meeting rooms, for the press and the retailers, with large and common exhibition areas also welcoming the end clients during the weekend. 

‘And, each year there are a lot of new wonders to discover inside the booths of each maison, so our concept has also evolved through time; although there may be some slight adaptations, the basics and the style remain the same.’

Watches and Wonders 2023 will take place 27 March – 2 April

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