Ups And Downs Of Watches And Wonders 2024
Almost two months ago, the biggest watchmaking fair in the world took place, Watches And Wonders (WnW), where we were present for another year, and today seems like a good day to take stock of what we hadn’t had the opportunity to do yet.
Many may be wondering why this article is only happening now, which is legitimate, and the explanation is very simple, it is that despite WnW closing its doors, our work continues for many weeks after this period, as we have limited resources and during this time the world doesn’t stop and as many other specialized media outlets, have to manage our time without neglecting the news we saw in Geneva but also the day-to-day news as many brands continue to prefer to stay out of the event.
Given the introductory explanations, let’s take to the business and start with the most positive points, the organization learned from what had not gone well with the opening of the hall in 2023, where the accreditation confusion on the first day came close to chaos and this year wisely they arrived in advance through the application without the need for other formalities.
Another new feature that we appreciated was the existence of a second entrance, which avoids crowding and faster and more direct access to areas such as the Press Lounge, which helps a lot of us and saves us a lot of time.
And since we talked about the previous point in the Press Lounge, this year it presented a different format, bringing together all the facilities in one place, work area, storage, and catering among others, we confess that at first glance it seemed confusing and we didn’t love it, but as the days went by, our opinion changed radically and it became our favourite meeting point to work, rest and eat, we even abandoned the habit of going to the restaurant, as the Press Lounge offers the same options without restrictions, although for at lunchtime it can get quite chaotic but nothing that can’t be tolerated.
At a time when there is so much discussion about sustainability, it was good to see the measure of collecting the packaging and bags of discarded gifts offered by brands to be reused again.
With the high points approached, let’s now talk about the less positive points and starting with the cue from the previous one, let’s talk about the gifts that some brands present to guests, we are convinced that no one goes to the fair with the main thought of receiving gifts, but everyone or perhaps almost everyone appreciates to receive a souvenir, what we no longer understand is the reason why some receive it and others don’t, we could think that it could be a logistic issue but this hypothesis does not work as the brands and the organization know perfectly well the number of visitors in the first few days not allocated to the general public, it doesn’t sound good and it looks bad on the brands, leaving the feeling that there are double standards.
Another less positive point was the storage cabinets in the new Press Lounge, and before we go any further, it is worth highlighting that it was the only negative point we identified in the area, the feeling we were left with was that that space had grown but whoever did the planning forgot to increase the number of lockers proportionally. What we found were a few of the previous lockers with codes that were very functional and small lockers with keys, which initially didn’t even have a number, which created a lot of confusion, on the second day the problem was partially solved with the placing of numbers on them, which helped to reduce constraints, a suggestion for 2025, increase the number of lockers with code and make them a little larger.
The internet signal was by far the worst at the fair, we were left without access numerous times, which did not make it impossible to use the application as it also worked offline, but it made our work hard, remember that in 2023 the internet signal was not spectacular but it was much better, definitely worth revisiting.
Finally, and with faith that we can contribute to improving future editions, we leave two suggestions, the first is regarding events outside the fair, we don’t know if it’s our fault (and it’s likely so) or the organization’s, we continue to feel a little lost in the events that take place at night in the centre of Geneva sponsored by WnW, it would be good to improve and reinforce communication here.
Another suggestion is that it would be good if all the press were located in the centre of Geneva, this year we were lucky enough to be there but last year we stayed in France, as happened again with some of our colleagues, it is not about comfort as the hotel in France was as good or better than in Geneva but the accessibility restrictions especially at night, as those staying in France cannot benefit from the events in the centre of Geneva, it would be good to find a solution.
The final balance is positive, it is a fantastic week for all those who, in addition to writing about watches, also like or have learned to appreciate these small timepieces, socializing with national and international colleagues as well as industry players with whom year after year we are strengthening ties, many of them becoming friends, we can only thank Geneva for welcoming us again so well and hope that next year there will be much more to add, see you soon Geneva.
