SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie), a top luxury watch trade fair, won’t expand in 2008 and—for the first time in years—won’t coincide in 2009 withBaselWorld, in Basel, Switzerland. The August announcement came from the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, which operates the annual invitation-only event.

SIHH, held at Geneva’s Palexpo center, has enjoyed growing success, and various high-end independent and corporate watchmakers want to join its 16 exhibitors (most from the Richemont luxury group). However, since Palexpo has allotted space to other events, SIHH’s exhibitors “will remain the same in 2008,” FHH said. SIHH 2008 will run April 7–14.

Scheduled events also affect SIHH 2009. Since its start in 1990, SIHH’s seven-day show has overlapped BaselWorld’s 10-day fair so visitors and journalists could attend both. However, SIHH 2009 will run Jan. 19–24, two months before BaselWorld 2009, because of “dates confirmed for the Geneva Motor Show and other events programmed by Geneva Palexpo,” said FHH.

It wasn’t clear at press time how SIHH’s 2009 dates would affect attendance, press coverage, or the smaller luxury watch exhibitions in Geneva, which coincide with SIHH.