www.worldwatchweb.com - Taking place on April 29th 2010, this 2nd Forum de la Haute Horlogerie, whose theme is Time to Rethink, is a day to reflect on the values of Fine Watchmaking that must help the profession bounce back. A unique opportunity to consider the very particular world of luxury.

During the first quarter 2010, the Swiss watch branch returned to growth with exports increasing by 16.6%. Not that this upturn should mask events of the past eighteen months, when the branch suffered the equivalent of fallout from Eyjafjallajokull, with waiting customers and watches unable to take off. After five years of unhoped-for success, this “break in transmission”, though long, now brings an opportunity to reflect on the elements that make Fine Watchmaking an exceptional activity, the means to secure its future, and the foundations for a new beginning.

When organising its second Forum de la Haute Horlogerie, to be held on April 29th 2010 and reserved for the exclusive circle of brand CEOs, the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie therefore chose a theme that is close to present-day preoccupations. Time to Rethink – the subject of this day of reflection – illustrates the need to ask difficult questions, and debate the future of a profession that must emerge stronger from the strategic twelve months of 2009. Strategic in the strictest sense, as this is about coordinating and planning actions to defend shared values.

By welcoming personalities from many different horizons, the Forum must also be an opportunity to take a detached view of the very particular world of luxury. Speakers include the former President of France, Valery Giscard D’Estaing, Vincent Bastien, assistant professor at HEC Paris, Rémy Bersier, member of the Bank Julius Baer Executive Board, the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, the British writer and journalist Nick Foulkes, the Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani and venture capitalist Frank Vivier. Taking the floor for the watch sector itself are Henry-John Belmont (Expert), Jean-Claude Biver (CEO Hublot), Patrick Frischknecht (CEO Les Ambassadeurs), François-Paul Journe (CEO F.P. Journe Invenit et Fecit), Georges Kern (CEO IWC), Thomas Mao (creator of ThePuristS.com) and Laurent Picciotto (founder of Chronopassion in Paris).

Last year, Swiss watchmaking returned to levels that were globally those of 2006. Have the past three years been lost or will they, on the contrary, contribute to a better understanding of the future of Fine Watchmaking? Time to Rethink, a rare moment for the watch branch, will endeavour to provide concrete answers.

Source: Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie -www.hautehorlogerie.org -

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