The Watchmaking Event
Overview
Intro
This Watchmaking Event will bring together company representatives, industry experts, and education professionals, all with the goal of promoting Valais’ expertise in watchmaking.
Watchmaking in Valais?
Instinctively, it’s hard to believe!
And yet! Beautiful watches aren’t made only in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Vallée de Joux, or on the other side of Lake Geneva. Valais plays an active role in the production of some of Switzerland’s most prestigious timepieces. As part of an event specifically dedicated to Valais watchmaking, the Sédun-based brand Norton Peak aims to shine a unique spotlight on this reality, which remains all too little known.
This Watchmaking Gathering will bring together company representatives, industry experts, and education professionals. Whether during the roundtable discussion or the on-stage interviews, our goal remains the same: to highlight Valais’s expertise in watchmaking and to increase the visibility of the industry in our canton.
Date: Friday, October 9, 10:10 a.m.
Location: Salle Bonne de Bourbon, Foire du Valais, Martigny
Admission to the Foire du Valais: Included with your registration
Program
Moderated by Valère Gogniat
Journalist, entrepreneur, former head of the economics and finance section at Le Temps.
10:10 a.m.
Opening remarks & welcome
10:15 a.m.
The watchmaking industry in Valais. Historical context: Pierre-Yves Donzé live from Osaka
A Swiss historian and professor at Osaka University in Japan, recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on the economic and global history of the watchmaking industry, he is notably the author of the seminal work *Catching Up with and Surpassing Switzerland: A History of the Japanese Watch Industry from 1850 to the Present” and “The Making of Excellence: A History of Rolex,” which garnered international acclaim.
10:30 a.m.
A “fireside chat” with Jean-Claude Biver
An iconic figure in Swiss watchmaking. A visionary and passionate entrepreneur, he has left his mark on the industry by leading and developing several prestigious brands, including Blancpain, Omega, Hublot, and TAG Heuer. Jean-Claude Biver has a very special connection to Swiss heritage—from cheese to the mountains to cows. And what about the Foire du Valais? We’ll ask him that question.
11:00 a.m.
Roundtable: “Making Watches in Valais—An Anomaly?” ”
Yves Bugmann
President of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH)
Eric Bianco
Head of the Department of Economy, Tourism, and Innovation for the Canton of Valais
Nicola Thibaudeau
Vice President of the Jura Cantonal Bank (BCJ), municipal councilor of Orsières, member of the Board of Trustees of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), and holder of various positions on boards of directors and foundation boards
Lucas Cucinotta
Founder of Norton Peak and the digital agency iomedia, established 25 years ago
11:30 a.m.
Q&A with the audience
12:00 p.m.
Cocktail reception and networking
Partners:
Watch Academy Foundation
Raiffeisen
iomedia
Le Nouvelliste
Rhône FM
Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.
| Contact address |
Lucas Cucinotta
CEO Norton Peak Rue Sainte-Marguerite 16 1950 Sion 0796348946 lucas.cucinotta@nortonpeak.com |
|---|---|
| Event Homepage | https://www.nortonpeak.com |
| Price |
Free
|
Event dates
- 09 أكتوبر, 2026
Discover the surroundings
Foire du Valais
Rue du Levant 91
1920
Martigny
سويسرا
Phone
+41 (0)27 722 00 34
Fax +41 (0)27 721 07 22
info@cerm.ch
cerm.ch