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JEWELLERY

Hollywood stars model watches in Geneva

Hollywood actors Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor and Matthew Fox were among the lineup of stars for a Tuesday night soiree in Geneva for IWC, the Schaffhausen watchmaker.

Hollywood stars model watches in Geneva
Movie actor Kevin Spacey is flanked by model Adriana Lima and IWC CEO Georges Kern (left) and model Karolina Kurkova and F1 driver Nico Rosberg at Geneva event. Photo: IWC Schaffhausen

French World Cup football champion Zinedine Zidane, Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, Formula One driver Nico Rosberg and tennis legend Boris Becker were other luminaries modelling luxury timepieces for the Richemont brand.

The IWC Schaffhausen Race Night was one of several events organized for the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) at Geneva’s Palexpo exhibition centre.

The event, showcasing 16 watch brands, coincides with the Geneva Time Exhibition and numerous smaller events in the city’s luxury hotels, all geared to promoting watch sales, largely to dealers, journalists and collectors.

McGregor, who appeared at a similar night for IWC last year, was sporting a trim beard as well as a watch with a large dial.

The Scotsman posed affably for photos alongside Lima.

A smiling Spacey appeared in a bowtie for the red carpet event, featuring music and a motor racing display, which attracted 800 guests and journalists, IWC said.

The brand rolled out its new line of Ingenieur watches and highlighted its partnership with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team, which helps explain Rosberg’s presence.

The watches range in price from around 3,500 francs to more than 30,000 francs.

Around 12,500 people are expected at the SIHH, which runs until Friday.

The salon showcases mostly brands from the Geneva-based Richemont luxury group, such as Jaeger LeCoultre, Baume & Mercier, Mont Blanc, Piaget, Cartier and Roger Dubuis.

The five-day Geneva Time Exhibition, which winds up on Thursday, is displaying watches from more than 30 smaller Swiss brands at the historic Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, a renovated utility plant.

The salons offer an opportunity to introduce new watch models, some of them running into the hundreds of thousands of francs.

The events are viewed as a barometer for the health of the Swiss luxury watch industry in the run-up to the world’s largest watch show, Baselworld, running from April 25 to May 2.

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CHRISTMAS

Why are German Christmas markets opening so early this year?

Most German Christmas markets don’t begin business until the end of November. But in some cities, the winter wonderlands are opening earlier than ever. What's going on?

Why are German Christmas markets opening so early this year?
Visitors stroll through Essen's Weihnachtsmarkt, which opens on Wednesday. Photo: DPA

The downtown Duisburg Christmas market is in full swing this year, 17 full days before the first Sunday Advent. This is earlier than ever, at least in the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia. Churches across Germany are expected to criticize this growing trend, yet many cities are defending their choices. 

“The Christmas market in Duisburg will open this year on November 14th, one day ahead of the Christmas markets in Essen and Oberhausen. The opening hours of the Christmas markets are mainly due to high demand from visitors,” a city project manager in Duisburg explained.

READ ALSO: 8 of the most beautiful German Christmas markets

Four women toast each other with Glühwein at the opening of the Freiburg Christmas market. Photo: DPA

Local church representatives collaborated with the city and agreed with the dates in Duisburg, he added. Additionally, the market recognizes important holy days like Totensonntag (Sunday of the Dead), Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to the city. 

“We are trying to meet the needs of our retailers, the inner-city trade and, above all, the demand of visitors,” he said.

The story is similar for Essen's early Christmas market. It will be closed for Volkstrauertag (this year on November 17th) as well as Totensonntag (November 24th).

And Essen and Duisburg are not alone with their very early Christmas markets. Even in Catholic-leaning Austria, marketplaces are getting a head start. For example, the Wiener Weihnachtstraum (Viennese Christmas Dream) opens November 15th.  

Even in Berlin, where big markets open only after Totensonntag and stay until the New Year, a similar phenomenon is playing out. The so-called Winterwelt (Winter World) at Potsdamer Platz, which is hardly distinguishable from a real Christmas market, has been open since November 2nd. 

Even more extreme, the Bayreuther Winterdorf (Bayreuth Winter Village) opened on October 17th this year. The marketplace proudly calls itself the first Christmas gathering “in the whole of Germany and certainly all of Europe.” 

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about preparing for Christmas 

A photo of the Christmas market in Bielefeld, North Rhine Westphalia. Photo: DPA

Nevertheless, the churches see the early Christmas markets as a commodification of important Christian holidays. Ulrich Lota, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Essen, says the markets are an advertising tool to lure people into the city and away from online shopping. 

“It is important to remember, even amongst the commerce and consumption, that Christmas is not just some cultural holiday at the end of the year, but the celebration of the birth of Jesus,” she said. 

However, churches don’t want to strictly forbid something that brings many joy during the season. 

Christmas markets in Freiburg, Bochum and Dortmunder, as well as the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt in Austria and the Weinachtsdorf am Bellevue in Zurich are all open as early as November 21st, the Thursday before Totensonntag.

In most cities, however, the Christmas markets open only after Totensonntag. Cities like Kassel, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Hamburg, Hanover, Bielefeld, Potsdam, Cottbus, Rostock and Lübeck hold off on the Glühwein and other classic Christmas treats until November 25th. 

In Erfurt, Weimar and Leipzig, the celebrations start on November 26th, and in Munich on Marienplatz and in Stuttgart only a day later on November 27th. The Dresden Striezelmarkt begins on Wednesday before the First Advent.

The Mainz Christmas Market opens on November 28th, and the famous Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt kicks off on November 29th, the Friday before the First Advent.

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