Basel and Geneva
Nick Foulkes
There are some people who can still remember when the Basel fair was a proper old fashioned trade fair showcasing all manner of Swiss products, including wines and cheeses. Sadly my visits do not date back that far but I can well recall raucous nights at Stucki and remember with pleasure the sight of major watch industry figures capering around the one or two small dancefloors that this city on the Rhine manages to boast. I also continue to treasure the memory of attending the 125th anniversary celebrations for IWC where part of the entertainment for the evening involved people tearing up newspaper on stage and making patterns with it.
Looking at the fair today with its elaborate, not to mention expensive, stands and the monumental structure built inside one hall just to showcase the brands owned by Bulgari (I remember when the Italian brand used to take a house in the old town) it is easy to see that things have certainly moved on. These are not mere corporate booths but pieces of architecture, movie sets designed to highlight the performance of their stars, the miracles of micro-engineering that we call wristwatches.
The fair has rebranded itself Baselworld and the parties given by watch companies are nothing if not slickly planned these days. The Breitling party is always an interesting set piece - racy, sexy and exotic - when it comes to the Basel Fair the winged B is as much associated with sybaritc partygiving as it is with COSC certified chronographs. While last year’s party at given by IWC at Geneva airport where an IWC movie starting John Malkovich was screened, Hollywood A-listers mingled with horolophiles and Ronan Keating performed to a delighted crowd; showing that Schaffhausen has really learned how to party since its 125th birthday celebrations. And the appearance of bona fide movie stars and celebrities; last year Catte Blanchette, Orlando Bloom, and Salma Hayek made it to the SIHH, and a couple of years ago I spent an amusing afternoon with Flavio Briatore on the De Grisogono stand at Basel; has raised the profile of the watch fairs in a way that would have been unimaginable ten or 15 years ago.
If it sounds like the watch fairs have become social events in a way they have. Certainly things smartened up at the beginning of the 1990s when the SIHH held its inaugural salon in Geneva. The Geneva show offers a calmer atmosphere than the hectic bustle of Basel and as well as the core of Richemont brands, this slick and stylish show has attracted high calibre defectors from Basel including Audemars Piguet and Girard Perregaux. As far as I am concerned the contrast between the incessantly thronged close-packed alleys between the stands at Basel, which at times resemble those of a medieval town, and the broad Haussmann like boulevards of Geneva with their bars and floral arrangements is in perfect balance.
I don’t know if it is increased professionalism or competition between brands, but today there is a tendency to stage reveals of new models long before the Basel and Geneva fairs. These events, often lavish and taking place in exotic locations, are very well in their way provided that they do not overshadow the glamour and the fun of the fairs themselves; those few action packed and eventful Spring days in Basel and Geneva when the world’s greatest watch brands present us with enough wrist candy to sate our appetites…at least until the next year. ■
