Baselworld Is Rising From the Ashes as ‘HourUniverse’

In addition, Watches & Wonders, the former SIHH, is planning to hold a show in Shanghai this fall.

Michelle Graff michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com

The Baselworld watch and jewelry trade show, pictured here in a 2018 shot, imploded in the wake of its cancellation this year but organizer MCH Group is creating a new website and show to replace it—HourUniverse. (Photo courtesy of Baselworld)

Basel, Switzerland—MCH Group, the Swiss company that ran the now-defunct Baselworld show, announced a new event Thursday, though it released few details.

The replacement for Baselworld, which crumbled in the wake of its cancellation due to COVID-19 this year, is called HourUniverse and is billed as an online platform for networking and content that will be active and updated all year, with one annual live event.

The site will target both consumers and members of the watch industry.

The first live event, MCH Group said, will take place in Basel in April 2021, “aligned with the watchmaking events in Geneva, in the best interests of the international community, which will only have to travel to Switzerland once a year.”

Watches & Wonders Geneva, which also was called off this year due to the pandemic, is slated for next April, though organizers have not announced exact dates yet.

There is also a new watch show being organized for April 2021 in Geneva, created by five of the biggest brands in the business: Rolex/Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard, which all cut ties with Baselworld this year.

MCH Group said it will release more details in late August, when it also plans to start marketing HourUniverse.

Also on Thursday, Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, organizer of Watches & Wonders (formerly SIHH), announced it is holding a show this fall in China.

Watches & Wonders Shanghai is scheduled for Sept. 9-13 at the West Bund Art Center.

The five-day show will include brand keynotes, product launches, talks, panel discussions, and a hands-on introduction to watchmaking.

Information on and photos of all the new watches presented at the show will be uploaded simultaneously on the Watches & Wonders website.

A total of 11 brands—all Richemont-owned, except for two—are slated to participate: A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Parmigiani Fleurier, Piaget, Purnell, Roger Dubuis and Vacheron Constantin.