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Geneva’s Exclusive Watch Show to Open to Public 

Geneva’s Exclusive Watch Show to Open to Public 

(Bloomberg) -- The Geneva watch salon is getting a makeover as luxury brands try to stay relevant in the age of the Apple Watch.

The Swiss organizer of the fair, which gives luxury watchmakers a chance to showcase their newest timepieces each year, is making some big changes, including a new name and opening the exclusive event to the general public.

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie will now be called Watches & Wonders Geneva, organizer Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie said in a statement Wednesday. The main exhibition will be entirely open to the public for the first time -- for a fee of 300 francs ($300) that includes food and drinks. Visitors can also participate in downtown walking tours, factory visits and open-house events at museums.

The move shows how an industry that’s been slow to adapt to trends such as online shopping wants to broaden its appeal. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s watch fairs -- Baselworld and the Geneva salon -- have faced an exodus of big-name participants such as Audemars Piguet and Swatch Group AG as mobile apps like Instagram offer a more efficient and direct way of connecting with customers.

“Hermes welcomes this ambition to open up the salon,” Hermes Watches Chief Executive Officer Laurent Dordet said. “It gives a wider audience the opportunity to discover our exceptional watchmaking savoir-faire both in Geneva and internationally.”

Watches and Wonders Geneva will take place April 25 to 29, immediately followed by Baselworld.

To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder, Lisa Wolfson

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