iW Magazine Fall 2019 | Page 20

Dialed In HOROLOGICAL NEWS LVMH WATCH BRANDS TO EXHIBIT IN DUBAI The four watch brands within the LVMH Group (Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith) will display their 2020 debuts next year in January at the Dubai Bulgari Hotel. As previously announced, Bulgari, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith will also exhibit during Baselworld 2020 in late April/early May, when the show occurs immediately after Watches & Wonders Geneva, the show formerly called SIHH. “We remain very supportive and loyal to Baselworld and the Swiss watchmaking industry. However, it was not possible for us to go thirteen months without a global presentation of our products and brands,” said Stéphane Bianchi, president of the LVMH Watch Division. MIH AWARDS GAIA PRIZES AND PRESENTS NEW WATCH At the annual Gaia Prize ceremony in a Chaux-de-Fonds, presented by the International Watchmaking Museum (Musée International d’Horlogerie), or MIH, enameling artist Suzanne Rohr won the Craftsmanship award, Laurent Tissot was the winner of the History prize and Chopard Co-President Karl- Friedrich Scheufele took home the prize in the Entrepreneurship category. The Gaïa Prizes are awarded each fall to individuals who have developed the knowledge of watchmaking through their work and achievements. In addition to the usual three categories, in 2019 the MIH also awarded a new Horizon Gaïa 2019 grant to Aude Moutoussamy. The grant will enable her to undertake original research on the strategies for appropriating social media adopted by different watch brands, in Switzerland and abroad. Also at the ceremony, the MIH unveiled its newest watch. Developed by in-house experts and produced with the help of local businesses and artisans from La Chaux-de-Fonds, sales of the watch will assist the museum as it develops programs to raise public awareness of watchmaking and local watchmakers and to fund projects to restore, document and showcase the museum’s collection. The new MIH watch, priced at CHF 2,900 (about $2,914) is available online on a subscription basis until January 19, 2020, at www.montremih.ch and at the MIH shop inside the museum. The first few subscribers who start the production process by supporting the museum will receive a discount of CHF 500. 20 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2019