Business NewsAudemars Piguet And Ten More Brands To Join Watches And Wonders For 2026

Audemars Piguet is joining Watches and Wonders in 2026, along with ten other brands, in a major boost for the annual Geneva watch event. The arrival of the family-owned company based in Le Brassus, Switzerland, and celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, means that four of the five largest Swiss watch brands by sales will be present at Watches and Wonders next year.

AP's decision to join the April trade show, which has expanded to include days open to the public, marks a significant increase in the scope of participating brands and underscores Watches and Wonders' position as the largest and most important industry gathering on the calendar. Key anchor brands Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Richemont marques (including A. Lange & Söhne, Cartier, IWC, and Vacheron Constantin) have been joined by LVMH brands such as Bulgari, Tag Heuer, and Zenith, along with Hermés and Chanel, Swiss independents including Oris and Norqain, as well as international players including Grand Seiko of Japan and Germany's Nomos at the fair.

The ten new brands joining Watches and Wonders in 2026 include watchmakers Behrens, Bianchet, B.R.M Chronographes, Charles Girardier, Corum, Credor, Favre Leuba, and March LA. B and Sinn Spezialuhren, according to a statement from Watches and Wonders. Swiss clockmaker l'Epée 1839, controlled by LVMH, is also joining the event, and the total number of brands at the watchmaking salon will rise to 66 in 2026 from 60 brands in 2025. 

Four previously participating watchmakers will exit the event for next year. They are Richemont's Montblanc, France-based Swiss watchmaker Bell & Ross, Switzerland's Speake-Marin, and MeisterSinger of Germany.

Swiss brands H. Moser & Cie as well as Frederique Constant will expand their presence at the salon and move to larger exhibition spaces among the major exhibitors next year, according to the statement.

Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille, another Swiss independent brand with more than CHF1 billion in annual sales, both left the previous iteration of the show, called the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), after the 2019 edition. The Watches and Wonders Foundation, which manages and stages the fair, was founded in 2022 by Rolex, Patek, and Richemont.

Swatch Group companies, including its top-selling Omega brand, do not participate in Watches and Wonders, while Breitling, another major player in the Swiss watch sector, has also chosen not to join.

Matthieu Humair, the CEO of the Watches and Wonders Foundation, says that the 2026 edition will expand to include more events, meetings, and gatherings in the city of Geneva beyond the convention hall near the airport where the salon is held.

Watches and Wonders will take place April 14 to 20 in Geneva and will include four professional days for retailers and journalists as well as three days open to the general public.