{"id":392936,"date":"2026-04-15T06:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T06:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/392936\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T06:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T06:43:08","slug":"watches-and-wonders-2026-rolex-cartier-and-audemars-piguets-debut-at-the-annual-geneva-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/392936\/","title":{"rendered":"Watches and Wonders 2026: Rolex, Cartier, and Audemars Piguet\u2019s debut at the annual Geneva event"},"content":{"rendered":"

While it\u2019s too soon to assess the impact of the Middle East conflict on luxury watch sales, the Iran war has already wreaked havoc on the logistics of an industry that heavily relies on the free flow of goods and people.<\/p>\n

One of the hottest topics at Watches and Wonders \u2013 the annual fair currently under way in Geneva \u2013 has been the disruptions that international editors and retailers heading to the event have experienced due to the crisis.<\/p>\n

After the US attacked Iran in late February, causing the protracted cancellation and significant reduction of flights going via hubs such as Dubai and Doha, industry insiders from as far away as Australia have scrambled to figure out ways to get to Geneva safely.<\/p>\n

\"RolexRolex watches on display at Watches and Wonders. Photo: EPA<\/p>\n

Of course, the travel issues of watch industry players are a minor problem compared to the long-term repercussions of the conflict, but they\u2019re an example of how this war has impacted an industry at the mercy of global travel flows and consumer confidence.<\/p>\n

This is all unfolding just as the market for luxury watches has started to recover after a not-so-great 2025. According to data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH), Swiss watch exports grew by 9.2 per cent year on year in February 2026, as compared with a 3.6 per cent fall in the previous month. Exports to the US, the largest market for luxury watches, grew strongly by 26.8 per cent year on year. While exports to mainland China and Hong Kong declined in February, a report by US brokerage firm Bernstein struck a hopeful note, saying that \u201crecovery in the Greater China region remains slow but steady\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"WaterproofWaterproof watches from Panerai. Photo: AFP<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, high-end timepieces are spurring this tentative recovery. This bodes well for all the brands that descend annually upon Palexpo, a convention centre on the outskirts of Geneva, where they erect extravagant booths to unveil their latest releases at Watches and Wonders.<\/p>\n

The most prestigious fair in the industry, Watches and Wonders is organised by the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation, a non-profit organisation established in 2022 by Rolex, Patek Philippe and Richemont<\/a>, the luxury group behind powerhouses Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vacheron Constantin and other historic brands.<\/p>\n

Created with the aim of promoting Swiss watchmaking around the world, the foundation also counts Chanel, Herm\u00e8s and LVMH, the world\u2019s largest luxury group, as board members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While it\u2019s too soon to assess the impact of the Middle East conflict on luxury watch sales, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[337,114,1657,184,42,3448,231,43,545,5959,2224,125,40,38,41,39,208,2711],"class_list":["post-392936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-asia","tag-business","tag-china","tag-economy","tag-headlines","tag-hong-kong","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-opinion","tag-south-china-morning-post","tag-sport","tag-technology","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}