INSIDER VIEW: ‘Tis (almost) the season
The awards season is almost upon us, and it’s always my favorite time of the year.
Incorporating non-awards events into the equation too, the klaxon for the beginning of the key period in the watch industry’s end-of-year calendar will sound on October 16, with the start of the Windup Watch Fair and WatchTime events in New York.
I’ve spoken previously about my love for what has colloquially become known as New York Watch Week. For some time, the States has been the dominant market in the global watch market, and it therefore only feels right that this week — with Windup and WatchTime as the anchors — grows bigger and more relevant with every passing year.
And then, in the space of just over a fortnight, both the GPHG Awards in Geneva (November 7) and the US Watch Awards (November 23) in New York will take place.
Not only do events like these help raise the tide of the whole industry, but they also complement each other perfectly.
Where the GPHG event is international, the US Watch Awards is proudly devoted to North America.
Where GPHG has a second-to-none reputation for recognizing high horology and exquisite craftsmanship, the US Watch Awards uniquely puts the spotlight on the teams, individuals, and businesses behind the company names.
And where the GPHG Awards focuses entirely on watchmakers and brands, the US Watch Awards is a deliberately broad church, acknowledging the role of America’s greatest retailers and suppliers across the board.
With the inclusion of the panel discussions at Insider Talks on the same day as the US Watch Awards — both taking place at Guastavino’s — there is a growing sense that the US watch industry now has an event that does the whole ecosystem justice.
Anyway, good luck to those exhibiting at WatchTime and Windup in November. Good luck to those that have made the cut for the GPHG Awards. And good luck to the eventual finalists for the US Watch Awards.
The North American watch market is the locomotive that drives the carriages of the rest of the world behind it, and we are now entering the season where it flexes its muscles and shows itself off in the greatest light possible.
