The countdown has begun: on 21 February, the international jewellery, watches and gemstones trade fair Inhorgenta will open its doors for the 51st time. The event was launched in Munich in 1974 as the ‘first International Trade Fair for Watches, Jewellery, Gemstones and Silverware’. This year, the six exhibition halls will once again not only be home to numerous brands and their products, but also an interesting supporting programme with exciting panel talk guests, masterclasses, special shows and an award ceremony with a grand gala. What’s more, Swisswatches will once again be represented by a very special guest.
Exciting panel discussions with high-profile guests will take place in Hall A1.435 on all days of the trade fair from 21–24 February. To kick off the series, Clio Godrèche, Senior Project Manager at Fondation Haute Horlogerie, which is partnering Inhorgenta for the first time this year, will moderate a discussion on the topic ‘How to attract the new generation of customers: Gen Z’. Afterwards, watch expert Gisbert Brunner will talk to Tutima Glashütte managing director Matthias Stotz on the topic ‘A secure future’. Other guests such as Mario Peserico, international director of the Swiss watch company Eberhard & Co., Gerhard Novak, general manager of Porsche Design, Rolf Studer, CEO of Oris, and Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling, will enrich the Stage Talks with many exciting topics and insights. The Trendfactory in Hall B2.403 will also be hosting lectures and panel discussions on the topics of sustainability, young professionals and future retail throughout the fair.
Following our premiere at Inhorgenta last year with Independent Watchmaker and semi-finalist at the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives Felipe Pikullik from Berlin, we have been lucky enough to engage the CEO of the young brand Gerald Charles, Federico Ziviani, for our Stage Talk. Our Editor-at-large, Jörn Kengelbach, will talk to Ziviani about how to build a collector’s brand in the 21st century. Gerald Charles was founded in 2000 by the genius watch designer Gerald Charles Genta, and became the property of the Ziviani family in 2003 – Franco Ziviani, a long-standing friend and companion of Gerald Genta, was the brand’s head designer until 2011. Since 2019, his son Federico Ziviani has been at the helm of the Gerald Charles brand, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
Gerald Charles CEO Federico Ziviani
An entire hall is dedicated exclusively to watches. In the ‘Timepieces’ hall A1, national and international exhibitors show watches of all kinds and watchmaking schools provide information about career opportunities. Brands such as Eberhard & Co., Junghans, Mühle Glashütte, Porsche Design, Tutima, Vulcain and many more can be found here. The Timepieces Hall also includes the Salon Suisse and the French Pavilion, where watchmakers from both countries present their creations.
The new Mühle-Glashütte Sportivo Power Chronograph
For the first time, the show will feature an FHH Cultural Space, a ‘dynamic centre for education and experience’, as the organiser calls it, which was created by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) to promote the art of watchmaking. This space will host a variety of cultural services and activities, including the exhibition ‘Watches and Talents’, curated by Watches and Culture by FHH, which presents the work of eight exceptional professionals in the watch industry. In addition, there will be a series of watchmaking workshops and events related to watchmaking, aimed at a broad audience.
The awards ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, 22 February, in the small Olympic Hall in Munich, will feature prizes in a total of nine categories, including Luxury Watch of the Year and Watch Design of the Year. Innovative concepts will be honoured in the Next Generation Retail category. A jury of industry experts has nominated three finalists in each category. The selection committee included, among others, Sarah Fabergé, Director of Special Projects Fabergé, Anja Heiden from the Wempe management team and Swisswatches Editor-at-Large Jörn Kengelbach. Around 500 guests are expected, including industry experts, prominent guests, media representatives, manufacturers and retailers.
