It was over before it began.

Having withdrawn from Baselworld earlier this year and announcing they would appear at a show within the same Geneva exhibition centre at the same time as Watches and Wonders, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chanel and Chopard have confirmed that they will not proceed with a physical event next April.

A spokesperson for Patek Philippe told WatchPro today that the brand “will be present at the digital version of the Salon which will take place from April 7 to April 13”.

Rolex, Tudor, Chanel and Chopard have not made any public statement, but they are all listed as participants in a “100% digital Salon” that is being pushed as an alternative to the physical show.

Before today, the former Baselworld exhibitors had not featured in any publicity for Watches and Wonders. A possible interpretation of today’s announcement is that there would effectively have been a single show this year with 34 brands and that will provide a template for the event in 2022.

Participating brands on the digital Salon Watchesandwonders.com are: A. Lange & Söhne, Armin Strom, Arnold & Son, Baume & Mercier, Bovet, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Fabergé, Ferdinand Berthoud, Girard-Perregaux, Grönefeld, H. Moser & Cie., Hermes, Hyt, Iwc Schaffhausen, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Laurent Ferrier, Mb&F, Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani, Patek Philippe, Piaget, Purnell, Rebellion Timepieces, Ressence, Rolex, Roger Dubuis, Rudis Sylva, Speake-Marin, Tudor, Ulysse Nardin and Vacheron Constantin.