SimplyAbuDhabi XXXIII

9 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I T he New Year was embraced with trademark style and sophistication on January 14–17, at the Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, where the 29th Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie notched up another resounding success. With footfall growing significantly, up 15 per cent on last year, the SIHH fair recorded a new attendance record of 23,000 unique visitors, and that was with the reduction in duration from five days to four. SIHH welcomed more VIPs and end customers than trade attendees for the first time, and over 1,400 international journalists flew in to discover the novelties of 2019 from the 18 historical Maisons and the 17 small independent watchmakers in the Carré Des Horlogers, or Watchmakers Square. There were engaging panel and keynote discussions, appearances from a slew of famous brand ambassadors and, just two years after launching a digitally enhanced presence, the social media results were impressive. The thirty live presentations and the dedicated spaces for sharing photos on social media meant that the #SIHH2019 hashtag featured in 380,000 posts on multimedia platforms, reaching a staggering 260 million people. A new showcase entitled LAB zoomed in on technological and digital innovations and this proved to be a busy hub of networking and a temporary think tank for the watch industry. Through some professionally inspired eavesdropping, we can say that watch lovers may expect themes such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented craftsmanship to appear in the world of fine watchmaking. Amidst of a wealth of stunning new releases, Simply Abu Dhabi selects and presents you with some of the most remarkable timepieces that were unveiled. S IMPLY T IME BY NICK R ICE AND KERRY SMI TH