SIHH this year was a benchmark for the Swiss watch industry. It saw Fine Watchmaking brands firmly plant their feet in reality and try to reach out to new consumers, extend entry-level ranges and take advantage of the huge influence social media now has. This trend report gives an in depth look at what made SIHH 2017 so special.

1. SIHH 2017:
IMMERSING THE
CONNECTED
CONSUMER INTO FINE
WATCHMAKING
11th January 2017 - 24th January 2017

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION.........................................03
SNAPSHOT OF THE PERIOD
TrendingTopics...........................................05
Volume of Conversations......................07
ANALYZING THE SOCIAL BUZZ
Among Influencers...................................10
Beyond Influencers....................................12
THE BACKGROUND...................................13
BEHIND THE TREND.................................16
READ THE TREND.....................................21
THE METHOD...............................................22
THE FOUNDATION’S MISSION...........23

3. INTRODUCTION
This series of trend reports are a collaboration
between London-based agency RE-UP and
the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. They
will look back over the past two weeks and
discover what’s been ‘trending’ online.
We aim to discover which watches, stories
and industrial developments in the world of
horology gain the most amount of coverage
on the digital sphere - uncovering why these
trends are important.

4. SNAPSHOT
OF THE PERIOD

5. TRENDING TOPICS AND STORIES
FROM THE 11TH TO THE 24TH OF JANUARY
Percentage of conversation about Fine Watchmaking* brands penetrated by the topic
*Fine Watchmaking defined by the parameters set by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in their white paper report
Two weeks ago FHH hosted their annual
watch event SIHH 2017
A big trend at SIHH was the use of perpetual
calendars within timepieces
Another emerging trend from SIHH was
black dials
H. Moser & Cie created the most Swiss watch
ever with the ‘Swiss Mad Watch’
Cartier re-released their coveted Panthere
collection at SIHH
31.3%
4.3%
4.1%
1.8%
1.1%

6. #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

7. VOLUME OF CONVERSATIONS
ON HIGH-END WATCHES

8. ANALYSING
THE SOCIAL BUZZ OF
SIHH 2017

9. @whatsonherwrist

10. Among Influencers
31.3%
Penetration of conversations
by SIHH in Swiss watch related
conversations
664.37%
Increase of SIHH mentions
against the previous two
weeks
10.07%
Of SIHH mentions are in
relation to the phrase
‘Swiss Watch’

11. “I think that brands are really working on their
DNA’s. By coming back to those codes, I hope
that the next few years will be very creative.”
- Emmanuel Gueit, watch designer

12. Beyond Influencers
11,462
All online mentions of
SIHH
367.07%
Increase of SIHH mentions
against the previous two weeks
21.41%
Of SIHH mentions in relation to
Swiss Watches

13. THE BACKGROUND
2017 marked the 27th annual Salon International de
la Haute Horlogerie Geneva (SIHH). Since 1991 SIHH
has carved its place as the foremost event in Fine
Watchmaking. Each January exhibiting Maisons present
their latest timepieces and the newest trends are
unveiled.
Each year, the event spotlights each exhibiting brand
in a thoughtfully designed setting, it remains true to its
fundamental vocation as an important and exclusive
rendezvous for the sector.

14. @plazawatch

15. The event gave visitors the chance to meet the
professionals behind the watches, spot future trends
and exchange with the historic Maisons as well as the
new waves of independent artisan-creators,
the Carré des Horlogers.
The event also opened its doors to the public. This, a
first for SIHH, helped to increase footfall to 16,000 and
showed FHH’s efforts to update the prestigious event.

16. BEHIND
THE TREND

17. SIHH 2017 showed innovation from both FHH and
exhibiting brands in many ways. Facebook Live and
Instagram Stories helped to show the world that the Swiss
Watch Industry is working hard to update its image.
The event kicked off on Monday with Fabienne Lupo,
Chairwoman and Managing Director of Fondation de
la Haute Horlogerie giving a speech during which she
welcomed key figures in Geneva, the committee, the
exhibitors and finally the public. She said “Faced with a
world that is being segmented and choosing
self-withdrawal the exhibitors Committee on the contrary,
has decided to open the doors of the exhibition and has
opted for welcome as its key word.”

18. #1
MONTBLANC
#2
IWC
CARTIER
PANERAI
VACHERONCONSTANTIN
#3 #4 #5

19. Many brands are coming to terms with the difficulties
that lie ahead and have begun to step back into
reality. During SIHH 2017 brands ‘toned down’ their
offerings and extended their entry-level ranges - even
lower prices in some cases. Useful complications took
precedence and emphasis is now on classic forms.
Materials are, mostly, more subdued.
This isn’t to say that Fine Watchmaking is stepping back
from innovation, the Rotonde De Cartier Mysterious
Double Tourbillon, is just one watch that is proof of
this. Technical and precious watchmaking continues to
push boundaries, this year simply shows that brands are
beginning to give themselves a sound footing in reality
in order to rebuild themselves.

20. A sound footing and a broad one as for this year, for
the very first time, Fine Watchmaking embraced the
breadth of influence within social media. They did so
by showing and explaining all the subtleties of Fine
Watchmaking, from the artisans themselves to watch
design.
Another proof that the industry is fighting back and
working hard to secure future customers by strongly
educating and deconstructing their know how and not
only showing the ostentatious of luxury.

21. @audemarsaholic

22. SIHH 2017 –
Highlights
A short highlight
video of this year’s
event including
watches and celebrity
attendees
READ THE TREND
10 ladies’
watches at SIHH
Ten of the best
women’s watches
from SIHH 2017
The standout
watches at SIHH
2017 (1)
A video of some
standout watches
from SIHH 2017

23. THE METHOD
We use two key social listening tools to gather the raw
data we have analysed for this report.
The first, an in-house bespoke database of 2000+
influencers and online sources within luxury and
watches - with the ability to gather insight into six
month’s worth of online buzz.
The second, a social (and media) listening tool that
looks at multiple keywords. This allows us to measure
and examine all online conversations over a set period.

24. THE
FOUNDATION’S
MISSION

25. The mechanical watch is a wonderful instrument and
the guardian of craftsmanship, creativity
and of course, time.
Our objective here at the Fondation de la Haute
Horlogerie, is to take our wealth of expertise into
the world through our four missions: to inform, train,
recognise and organise.
Since 2005, we have promoted values of excellence and
tradition within an organisation that has the support of
many Fine Watchmaking brands.

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