Just a few years ago, watch fairs were deemed to be past their use-by date. The Swatch Group had pulled out of such shindigs altogether, the giant Baselworld closed its doors in 2019 after 100 years, and brands including Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and Breitling declared such events unnecessary.

No longer. A revitalised Watches & Wonders drew 49,000 visitors to Geneva in April and in September, some 1000 Financial Review subscribers and readers booked sessions at the About Time Watch Weekend.