Watches and Wonders 2026: Everything to Know
Watches and Wonders Geneva is the luxury watch industry’s preeminent annual event, showcasing new releases from over 50 top brands (65 this year, including Audemars Piguet and Credor for the first time). Watches & Wonders effectively supplanted the once-dominant Baselworld as the world’s top watch fair. Now, towards the start of spring each year, droves of watch industry members and enthusiasts descend upon Geneva to soak in all the newest, hottest watches. Here’s everything you need to know about Watches & Wonders 2026.
When is Watches & Wonders 2026?
Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 will occur from April 14-20. The first four days (April 14-17), are for journalists and industry members only, and April 18-20 will be open to the general public. Expect a flood of online content about the new watches to be released on the morning of April 14.
How to Attend Watches and Wonders
Members of the public have to buy tickets to attend Watches and Wonders Geneva. For an adult in 2026, a single-day pass for Saturday or Sunday is about $89 while a Monday pass is about $63.
What Brands are at Watches and Wonders 2026?
65 brands are set to exhibit at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026. Audemars Piguet, Sinn, Corum, Credor, March LA.B, Favre Leuba and Bianchet Tourbillon Watches are all appearing at the event for the first time. So is Behrens, a Chinese brand that makes some of the thinnest watches in the world, and Charles Girardier, a very upscale brand that won the 2020 GPHG Ladies’ Complication prize. Here’s the full list of exhibitors:
| Brand | Owner |
|---|---|
| A. Lange & Söhne | Richemont |
| Alpina Watches | Citizen |
| Angelus | Manufacture La Joux-Perret |
| Armin Strom | Serge Michel and Claude Greisler |
| Arnold & Son | Citizen |
| Artya | Artya |
| Audemars Piguet | Family-owned |
| Baume & Mercier | Richemont |
| Behrens | Mr. Lin Bingqiang |
| Bell & Ross | Private investors, Chanel (minority) |
| Bianchet Tourbillon Watches | Rodolfo and Emmanuelle Festa Bianchet |
| Bremont | Nick and Giles English |
| B.R.M. Chronographes | Bernard Richards |
| Bulgari | LVMH |
| Cartier | Richemont |
| Chanel | Wertheimer family |
| Charles Girardier | CG‑Watches SA (Patrick A. Ulm) |
| Charriol | Family-owned |
| Chopard | Scheufele family |
| Christiaan van der Klaauw | Pim Koeslag |
| Chronoswiss | Ebstein family |
| Corum | Haso Mehmedovic et al |
| Credor | Seiko |
| Cyrus Genève | LVMH |
| Czapek & Cie | Czapek & Cie |
| Eberhard & Co. | Eberhard & Co. |
| Favre Leuba | Silvercity Brands AG |
| Ferdinand Berthoud | Scheufele family |
| Frederique Constant | Citizen Watch Co. |
| Genus | Sébastien Billières and Catherine Henry |
| Gerald Charles | Gerald Charles |
| Grand Seiko | Seiko |
| Grönefeld | Grönefeld family |
| H. Moser & Cie. | MELB Holding |
| Hautlence | MELB Holding |
| Hermès | H51 SAS, Arnault family, et al |
| Hublot | LVMH |
| Hysek | Akram Aljord |
| HYT | Kairos Technology Switzerland |
| IWC | Richemont |
| Jaeger-LeCoultre | Richemont |
| Kross Studio | Marco Tedeschi |
| L’Épée 1839 (clock brand, not watches) | LVMH |
| Laurent Ferrier | François Servanin et al |
| Louis Moine | Jean-Marie Schaller |
| March LA.B | Alain Marhic, Jérôme Mage, Joseph Châte |
| MeisterSinger | Manfred Brassler |
| Montblanc | Richemont |
| Nomos Glashütte | Independently-owned |
| Norqain | Family-owned |
| Oris | Ulrich W. Herzog et al |
| Panerai | Richemont |
| Parmigiani Fleurier | Sandoz Family |
| Patek Philippe | Stern Family |
| Pequignet | Philippe Spruch and Laurent Katz |
| Piaget | Richemont |
| Raymond Weil | Family-owned |
| Ressence | Benoît Mintiens et al |
| Roger Dubuis | Richemont |
| Rolex | Hans Wilsdorf Foundation |
| Rudis Sylva | Jacky Epitaux, Laurent Frésard et al |
| Sinn | Lothar Schmidt |
| TAG Heuer | LVMH |
| Trilobe | Gautier Massonneau |
| Tudor | Hans Wilsdorf Foundation |
| U-Boat | Italo Fontana |
| Ulysse Nardin | Sowind |
| Vacheron Constantin | Richemont |
| Van Cleef & Arpels | Richemont |
| Zenith | LVMH |
Who’s Not at Watches and Wonders?
Swatch’s brands (including Breguet, Longines, Blancpain and Omega) do not participate in Watches and Wonders. Breitling, Richard Mille, F.P. Journe, and Girard-Perregaux are also notably absent. Speake-Marin is the only brand that participated in Watches & Wonders 2025 and not 2026.
What Happened to Baselworld?
The downfall of Baselworld, in my opinion, should be examined as a case study at business schools around the world. It’s a textbook example of arrogantly overplaying your leverage. But in its heyday, Baselworld was a phenomenon.
In its peak years around 2015, BASELWORLD hosted 1,500 exhibitors from 40 nations on 140,000 square meters and welcomed over 150,000 visitors.
Baselworld.com
The Downfall of Baselworld
Baselworld had roots dating back to 1917, and it was an absolute mainstay of the industry. Rolex had been releasing their new models there every year since the 1950’s! Clearly Baselworld management thought their exhibitors needed them, and prices for booths there were not cheap.
But after the 2020 edition was cancelled amid that year’s lockdowns, MCH Group (Baselworld’s parent company) must’ve done something to annoy Rolex and Patek Philippe enough for them to consider alternative options. And all it took for the Baselworld empire to come crashing down was probably one friendly text message between Rolex and Patek Philippe executives. “Hey is Baselworld hassling you too? How about we both do our new releases at SIHH instead? Lol!”
The Origins of Watches & Wonders Geneva
Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, established in 1991 and better known as “SIHH,” was the annual upscale watch show for Richemont brands. Richemont is the company who owns Cartier as well as Panerai, IWC, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre and more. Eventually the show also included other leading brands like Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet.
Gradually SIHH grew to become the clearcut #2 watch fair in the world. And what happens when Rolex and Patek decide to show their watches at the #2 watch show? Well…it becomes the #1 watch show; that’s what. The new watch show would no longer be known as “SIHH,” however. It effectively merged with Watches & Wonders, which had previously been more of a traveling multi-city affair.
Baselworld had planned to “re-imagine” their platform as some vague digital concept called Baselworld 2.0, then they briefly considered throwing in-person events under a new moniker, “HourUniverse.” Then they claimed “Baselworld is back!” but, it most certainly wasn’t. As of 2024, Baselworld.com stated “No further editions of Baselworld are planned at this point” and now the domain simply forwards to MCH’s website, where no mention of watches can be found. Oof. Nobody is even really challenging W&W’s dominance at this point. I feel like Harvard Business School could have a field day with that one.
Frequently Asked Questions About W&W
How Old is Watches and Wonders?
Watches & Wonders first occurred in 2013, and from then until 2019 it was a multi-city show that exhibited in places like Hong Kong and Miami. Since 2020, the Watches & Wonders team, along with Richemont and all the other exhibitors, fills Baselworld’s void with what we now know as Watches & Wonders Geneva.
Where is it?
Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 will once again be held at a convention center known as Palexpo. From 2021-2024, smaller W&W Shanghai events also occurred in August/September, but those are no longer happening.
Can You Buy Watches There?
No, don’t expect to make any actual watch purchases at the show.
Is AP at Watches and Wonders?
Yes, 2026 is the first year that Audemars Piguet is at Watches and Wonders Geneva. The 2025 Audemars Piguet releases, along with the 2024 AP releases, were quite scattered throughout the year.
Recap: What Were the Best New Watches from Watches and Wonders 2025?
The new Rolex Land-Dweller seemed to make the most headlines of Watches and Wonders 2025 not only for its throwback integrated bracelet design, but for its DynaPulse escapement. But we should certainly mention three world records broken last year: the world’s lightest dive watch (Ulysse Nardin‘s Diver [AIR] weighs 52 grams), the world’s thinnest tourbillon watch (The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra Tourbillon is only 1.85mm thick), and the most complicated wristwatch ever made (41 complications in a single 45mm Vacheron Constantin wristwatch).
See below for our complete coverage of Watches and Wonders 2025 releases from our favorite brands:
Our Complete Coverage of Watches & Wonders Geneva 2025:
Last year will be tough to top, but Luxury Bazaar will be at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2026 bringing you lots of content as it happens, and maybe even throwing a party or two. We’ll keep you posted about everything!
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