News The tenth edition of the World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie (WPHH) was a dazzling success. On this occasion, the seven companies of the Franck Muller group (Franck Muller Genève, Pierre Kunz, ECW, Rodolphe, Barthelay, Backes & Strauss and Martin Braun) exhibited all of the watches in their new collections on a floor space of more than 4,500 m2 developed specially for the occasion on the group’s main site, in the park and château of Watchland in Genthod. The exhibition, open to the public and running for eight days from 15 to 22 April, welcomed more than 6,000 visitors – a figure more than 20% higher than that of 2006 – and 550 journalists from all continents to this unique fairytale setting with its imposing views of Lake Geneva and Mont-Blanc. The exclusive world premieres on show once again amply demonstrated the group’s watchmaking expertise both in terms of complications and prestigious timepieces.
The volume of business carried out showed a two-digit increase for the Franck Muller brand and doubled for the Rodolphe brand, beating all previous records. Martin Braun and Backes & Strauss, joining the WPHH for the first time, exceeded their targets. Results for Pierre Kunz also showed an increase, while ECW and Barthelay continued to make steady progress.
The crowning point of the exhibition was a grand gala evening on Wednesday 18 April. A section of Vieux Grenadiers welcomed the 1,400 guests to a breathtaking evening of entertainment featuring a private and exclusive concert by Tom Jones, who in our photo is flanked by Vartan Sirmakes and Franck Muller. The singer succeeded in filling the dance floor with guests including Philippe Senderos, Orianne Collins, Nadine Thalmann (Miss French-speaking Switzerland 2006), Pierre-François Unger, Mark Muller, Carlo Lamprecht and many more, until 3 in the morning. The next WPHH will take place from 6 to 13 April 2008.
May 09, 2007
