This year the 100th Baselworld Luxury Watch and Jewellery Fair took place from 23 to 30 March. Since 1917, this 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 fair and were enchanted by the latest collections and creations, trends and innovations in the luxury segment. The core message of the world fair was clear and showed that smart watches with analogue display are hip and visionary for the future. Mechanical luxury watches are a thing of the past without buyers having to do without the preferred design of an analogue watch. Manufacturers such as Rolex, Omega and Tag Heuer or Hublot and Breitling presented their watch trends and were delighted with the lively response.
Attention to detail pays off
It is the small details that attract attention and set trends. The fact that the Smartwatch technology is gaining acceptance and replacing mechanical watch movements became very clear. In purely visual terms, the reorientation of manufacturers does not affect the popular Rolex or Breitling models. This is because the trend continues to focus on analog displays for ladies’ and gents’ watches. Retro-design in connection with innovative details and forward-looking technology have shaped the world’s largest trade fair and are being taken up more than ever by luxury watch manufacturers. Luxury in watches is currently based on antique chic, purist designs and technologies that combine innovation and tradition. Breitling and Rolex, Bell & Ross, Frederique Constant and Tag Heuer or Hublot specifically follow this concept. At first glance, many visitors were guided by the optical details and found little that pointed to the Smartwatch technology. But the second glance brought insights and showed what is 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 cancelled their participation. A total of 200 fewer exhibitors came, which made the world fair no less interesting and varied.
There were many new and up-and-coming designers who competed for the first time at Baselworld 2017 and presented their luxury watches to a broad target audience. In the past, Basel’s prestige hall was reserved exclusively for renowned designers.
This year Armin Strom, Moritz Grossmann and Tutima from Glashütte were also in the legendary Hall 1. Nomos had less luck in the stand allocation, which was certainly not due to the brand’s completely new concept; luxury watches for high school graduates and students characterise the range and are available for a purchase price of around 1,000 euros including engraving.
Luxury watches | Timepieces at a high level
The manufacturer Breitling presented a special highlight. He used the World Watch and Jewellery Show to herald a new era for chronographs with the Navitimer Rattrapante. So it’s no surprise that the luxury brand’s stand attracted an enormous number of visitors and even crowds. A completely redesigned fly back mechanism with a new, patented decoupling mechanism is inherent in this model. Buyers pay around 9,990 euros for the model in stainless steel and 26,170 euros for the solid red gold version. Here luxury is written in capital letters and Breitling once again shows which factors determine timekeeping today and what matters at the upper level.
But Rolex also had a real design and innovation highlight in its portfolio with the Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller. This was a new edition of the diving watch, first produced 50 years ago, which now boasts a case enlarged to 43 millimetres.
The “superlative chronometer” certification is no coincidence and is a quality feature that the luxury watch manufacturer concentrates on in all its models. Here, too, it becomes clear that technology does not have to bring about any groundbreaking optical changes and refrain from the tried and tested and the popular. Analog displays have proven to be a trend for most manufacturers and, as was shown at Baselworld 2017, are once again shaping watch fashion this year.
New exhibitors and many anniversaries
An extraordinary guest was the Korean technology group Samsung, which came to Baselworld for the first time in 2017 and presented three concepts. It is well known that Samsung has its concepts created by luxury watch designer Yvan Arpa from Switzerland and wants to secure its place in the luxury watch segment. Old-established classic luxury watch brands were hardly impressed and celebrated their own anniversaries and product launches at Baselworld. The world fair itself celebrated its 100th anniversary and thus stands for a watchmaking event that has established itself among its target group without restriction. Also celebrating its 60th birthday was the Swiss brand Omega, which has held a not insignificant position in the luxury watch sector for 60 years now. Tradition and innovation have been combined, which was difficult to miss with all three models presented in retro design. The luxury watch market leader Rolex also used the fair to celebrate its 50th anniversary with the professional diving watch Sea-Dweller in complete revision.
As every year, Baselworld 2017 was about seeing, discovering and being seen. More and more young designers are using the world fair to present their luxury watches to a broad target group and thus establish themselves on the market. What has proven itself does not require an update. This applies not only to the designs of luxury watches, but also to the fair and its location. Numerous visitors flocked to Basel during the exhibition period to gain an overview of the new trends and groundbreaking highlights in luxury watches.
Luxury and glamour | Superlative watches and jewellery
Jewellery played an almost subordinate role in the numerous new publications in the luxury watch segment. Nevertheless, many designers use the fair to present their new collections. Especially pink gold was to be seen and enjoys great popularity this year. It is striking that jewellery and luxury watches in design harmony are equally convincing for men and women. Red gold has also established itself in watches and underpins the retro charm that characterises the new collections from Rolex or Omega and Breitling. Alternatively, stainless steel is a timeless trend in both luxury watches and jewellery, combining robust properties with special optical features. The jewellery manufacturers and luxury watch labels present did not miss a moment to celebrate themselves and the presentation of their new collections. As expected, the fair again set trends this year and had a lasting influence on the orientation of buyers and interested parties. The trend is clearly towards watches with analogue displays that still offer the advantages of smart technologies. It can be seen that the tried and tested is asserting itself in the field of design and that retro luxury watches are therefore the main focus of the target group. But more and more newcomers are positioning themselves alongside renowned brands.
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