Tick-Talk TickTalk Blog
Called “Time to Watches”, this new Geneva watchmaking event has been announced for dates parallel to those of Watches and Wonders from the end of March to early April 2022. It plans to host around fifty brands on the campus of the University of Art and Design (HEAD) and aims in particular to build bridges with the academic and cultural world.
Time to Watches is presented as a “new watch event for creative and innovative brands” and will take place in Geneva between March 30th and April 5th 2022 (i.e. in parallel with the major annual event Watches and Wonders), on the campus of the University of Art and Design (HEAD).
Situated halfway between Palexpo by the airport and the lakeside hotels, Time to Watches will host 50 exhibiting brands in an emblematic building which combines exhibition areas, a dedicated media room and open spaces for informal meetings and catering. Aimed at industry professionals – retailers, media, influencers and VIPs – the 4-day event will be open for one day to enthusiasts from the general public. The mission of Time to Watches is to “strengthen links between key players across the watchmaking community, in the very heart of its capital city. It is also to build bridges with the academic and cultural world, hence the partnership with HEAD – Genève.”
HEAD – Genève, University of Art and Design, offers Bachelor’s and Master’s courses in Fine Arts, Cinema, Interior Architecture, Space and Communication, Visual Communication as well as Fashion and Accessory Design. It has forged close links and significant collaboration with the local arts community and economy.
Since 2012, HEAD – Genève has been offering a unique Master’s course in Watch Design as part of the Fashion, Jewellery and Accessory Design Department. Students learn about watchmaking design, marketing and strategic challenges as well as trends and heritage issues related to the watchmaking industry.
“HEAD – Genève has always been a place open to the city and the world, said its director Jean-Pierre Greff. Promoting a pedagogy rooted in the real world, we wish to offer our students every opportunity to confront the professional world. The Time to Watches event is precisely the kind of context where our students can find inspiration, networking and professional perspectives.”
Marc Angebault and Christian Wipfli, co-directors of Time to Watches, added: “In the current context, our intention has always been to create an event that is relevant today and tomorrow, hence the synergy of our partnership with HEAD – Genève. We want to promote values of audacity and innovation in watchmaking by bringing together know-how, creativity and energy from watch brands, who all happen to be meeting on the same dates in the same city.”
