Baselworld 2017 | Highlights at the world trade fair for luxury watches and jewelry

The 100th Baselworld luxury watch and jewelry show took place from March 23rd to 30th this year. Since 1917, this trade fair has been the trend-setting event for luxury watch manufacturers and designers who want to inspire with renowned names and luxurious products and reach customers all over the world. Numerous exhibitors and visitors found their way to the show and were enchanted by the latest collections and creations, trends and innovations in the luxury segment. The core message of the world trade fair was clear and showed that smartwatches with analog displays are hip and visionary. Mechanical luxury watches are a thing of the past, without buyers having to forgo the preferred design of an analog watch. Manufacturers such as Rolex , Omega and Tag Heuer as well as Hublot and Breitling presented their watch trends and were delighted with the enthusiastic response.

Attention to detail pays off

It's the small details that attract attention and set trends. It was very clear that smartwatch technology is gaining ground and replacing mechanical watch movements. From a purely visual perspective, the manufacturers' reorientation has not affected the popular models from Rolex or Breitling. The trend remains focused on analog displays in men's and women's watches. Retro design combined with innovative details and visionary technology characterized the world's largest trade fair and is being embraced more than ever by luxury watch manufacturers. Currently, luxury watches are based on antique-style chic, purist designs, and technologies that combine innovation and tradition. Breitling and Rolex, Bell & Ross , Frederique Constant , Tag Heuer, and Hublot are all deliberately following this concept.

At first glance, many visitors were drawn to the visual details and found little evidence of smartwatch technology. But a closer look revealed what was hidden in the classic garb and how stylishly brand-new and classic can be combined. Last year, 1,500 exhibitors were present in the exhibition halls. This year, for example, Versace and Salvatore Ferragamo canceled their participation. Overall, 200 fewer exhibitors attended, but that didn't make the global trade fair any less interesting or diverse.

Many new and emerging designers made their debut at Baselworld 2017, presenting their luxury watches to a diverse audience. Basel's prestigious hall has historically been reserved exclusively for renowned designers. This year, Armin Strom, Moritz Grossmann, and Tutima from Glashütte were also present in the legendary Hall 1. Nomos was less fortunate in securing a stand, which certainly wasn't due to the brand's completely new concept; luxury watches for high school graduates and students dominate the range and are available for a purchase price of around 1,000 euros including engraving.

Luxury watches | Timekeeping at a high level

Breitling presented a special highlight. It took advantage of the World Watch and Jewelry Fair to usher in a new era for chronographs with the Navitimer Rattrapante. It's no surprise, then, that the luxury brand's booth attracted enormous crowds and even a crush of visitors. This model features a completely redesigned split-seconds mechanism with a patented release mechanism. Buyers will pay around €9,990 for the stainless steel model and a whopping €26,170 for the solid rose gold version. Luxury is a top priority here, and Breitling demonstrates once again which factors determine timekeeping today and what matters at the high end.

But Rolex also had a true design and innovation highlight in its portfolio with the Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller . This was a reissue of the diver's watch first produced 50 years ago, now boasting a case enlarged to 43 millimeters.

The "Superlative Chronometer" certification is no coincidence and is a quality feature that the luxury watch manufacturer focuses on in all its models. This also demonstrates that technology doesn't necessarily require groundbreaking visual changes or a departure from the tried and tested. Analog displays have proven to be a trend among most manufacturers and, as demonstrated at Baselworld 2017, are shaping watch fashion again this year.

New exhibitors and many anniversaries

An unusual guest was the Korean technology group Samsung, which attended Baselworld for the first time in 2017 and presented three concepts. Samsung is known to have its concepts created by Swiss luxury watch designer Yvan Arpa, hoping to secure its position in the luxury watch segment. Long-established classic luxury watch brands were hardly impressed by this and celebrated their own anniversaries and product launches at Baselworld. The world trade fair itself turned 100 years old, thus representing a watchmaking event that has firmly established itself among its target audience.

The Swiss brand Omega, which has held a significant position in the luxury watch sector for 60 years, also celebrated its birthday. Tradition and innovation have been combined, as was evident in all three models presented with their retro designs. Luxury watch market leader Rolex also used the trade fair to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a completely redesigned Sea-Dweller professional diver's watch.

At Baselworld 2017, as every year, it was all about seeing, discovering, and being seen. More and more young designers are using the global trade fair to present their luxury watches to a broad target audience and thus establish themselves in the market. What has proven successful doesn't need updating. This applies not only to the designs of luxury watches, but also to the trade fair and its location. Numerous visitors flocked to Basel during the trade fair period to gain an overview of the new trends and groundbreaking highlights in luxury watches.

Luxury and Glamour | Superlative Watches and Jewelry

Among the numerous new releases in the luxury watch segment, jewelry played an almost secondary role. Nevertheless, many designers used the trade fair to present their new collections. Rose gold was particularly prominent and is enjoying great popularity this year. It's striking that jewelry and luxury watches, with their design harmonisation, appeal to both men and women. Rose gold has also established itself in watches, underscoring the retro charm that characterizes the new collections from Rolex, Omega, and Breitling. Alternatively, stainless steel is a timeless trend for both luxury watches and jewelry, combining robust properties with visual appeal.

The jewelry manufacturers and luxury watch labels present didn't miss a moment to celebrate themselves and the presentation of their new collections. As expected, the trade fair set trends again this year and had a lasting impact on the orientation of buyers and prospective buyers. The trend is clearly toward watches that boast analog displays while still incorporating the advantages of smart technologies. It's clear that tried-and-tested designs are holding their own, and therefore retro luxury watches are the main focus of the target audience. In addition to renowned brands, however, more and more newcomers are also establishing themselves.

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