I Left My Heart in Geneva

I don’t miss watch shows (much)

Like clockwork (pun intended), I used to get sick twice every year, about a week after returning from each of the two big watch events in Switzerland—those formerly known as BaselWorld and the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). I chalked it up to the petri dish that was an overheated exhibit hall full of people from all over the world, a lot of handshakes, hugs and air kisses, too much booze consumed at nightly dinners, and an immune system compromised by lack of sleep and dehydration. I’d come home jetlagged, and disappear into the cave, my anxious, introverted constitution overloaded from days of socializing. Soon I’d start sniffling and coughing, followed by a week of recovery. No, I don’t miss the annual watch events. Well, maybe a little.