Salon QP 2012
It's official - November has become the watch industry month of the year. It is the perfect time to exhibit the new models which have been unveiled throughout the year, but which have now emerged from behind glass cabinets, gone into production and can be held, touched and bought, it is the perfect time for a pre-Christmas showcase and it is also the perfect time to wind up any business of the year before the activities begin again for SIHH and BaselWorld. QP Magazine's James Gurney may masquerade as the epitome of understatement, but he is in fact as canny as they get. Nestled between Munichtime and Belles Montres in Paris and just before the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix is the now very much established Salon QP, British Watchmaking event of the year.
Last year the event moved to the larger location of London's Saatchi Gallery - a move which proved fortuitous because visitor numbers tripled and the extra space allowed for a designated Independent Gallery to be included for the first time - bravo! Salon QP is not to be confused with other, more humdrum watch industry events, it has had in the past some very unique attractions and this year will be no different - there will be a seminar centre, there will be guest speakers, exclusive screenings of the George Daniel's documentary and a chance to take part in a watchmaking Masterclass to name but a few and with the eclectic mix of all that British holorogy brings to any occasion, people-watching is also an opportunity not to be missed.
This year's event will continue to shine a spotlight on British watchmaking - that Britain has contributed richly to the history of horology is in no doubt, but the current revival has, in historical terms been relatively fast. It was only in the seventies that Peter Roberts a Fellow of the British Horological Institute became the first UK student to study at WOSTEP, he became a teacher at London’s Hackney School of Watchmaking and among his many students over the years were Stephen Forsey and Peter Speake-Marin. Both Mr Roberts and Mr Speake-Marin will speak to avid audiences at the Salon QP event which runs from November 8th to 10th. As soon as the dust settles, and our little hearts stop pounding with the excitement of it all we will cherry-pick the highlights and bring them to you.
More information at the official Salon QP website.