Baselworld 2019, arguably the recent most compact edition, represented only 520 watch and jewellery brands from around the globe. The number of visitors saw a slash by 22 percent over 2018 to 81,200. Also down was the number of journalists. Show organiser MCH Group has put forward new ideas for hall layouts, infrastructures and communications which met with positive responses from industry practitioners in general, including those interviewed by Hong Kong Jewellery.
Digitalisation, according to the new Baselworld chief Michel Loris-Melikoff, has brought a radical upheaval and hence a new challenge to the industry which motivated the show management to transform the show fundamentally. Besides launching the Show Plaza in Hall 1.2 where fashion shows were held all through the show period, a new press centre was in place in Hall 1.0 providing media representatives with improved facilities. An expanded information channel incorporating a revamped website and an app aimed to foster communications during the fair. “We received an extremely positive response to initial innovations,” said Loris-Melikoff.
Maria Carola Picchiotti of Valenza-based Picchiotti told Hong Kong Jewellery that the brand was able to have some interesting meetings and the level of business was as expected with a steady traffic.
“We made some new contacts from the Middle East. Buying sentiment was good. Our revolutionary stretchable XpandableTM Collection was the bestseller.” “Baselworld is still the Baselworld. Nothing compares to it,” she stated the importance of the fair for the brand.
“Messika always receive a very warm welcome from both our clients and the press. We didn’t feel the visitor drop which was the same as last year,” said Valerie Messika of the French high jewellery brand. “Baselworld is a good opportunity to meet new potential buyers. I met potential Indian buyers who seemed really impressed by Messika’s value and heritage in diamonds,” she told Hong Kong Jewellery.
“This year, I wanted to show a more creative collection The Wild West inspired by Californian desert. I wanted to inject a state of mind, a feeling of getting away. We sold at least a half of our new high jewellery pieces at the fair. And we had a lot of orders concerning the Lucky Move collection,” she added. “I will be at Baselworld 2020.”
German modern jewellery brand Niessing believes the reinvention of Baselworld will take some years, while the 2019 show was “very successful”, according to Sonja Erl of the company. “For Niessing, quality is more important than quantity. We met the people we wanted to meet. We fully achieved our goals. Baselworld is for us not only the place to take orders but also to establish new relationships for long-term business. We met potential buyers mainly from France, Italy, Germany and several Asian markets,” she said.
The signature Niessing Ring with a floating diamond was among the bestselling items at the fair. Besides the wedding rings, the new Niessing Silver Colors was a big hit as well. According to Erl, the bestselling retail price range was between 500 and 10,000 euro.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of Fope. According to Valentina Bertoldo of the Italian brand, the fair was positive and they had fantastic feedbacks to the new brand identity. “We met with the same number of retailers as scheduled which was in line with our expectations. We met some potential buyers we had contacted ahead of the show,” she said.
“One of our bestselling collections was Flex’It which features our signature Valenza-made 18-karat gold extendible bracelets. The popular price points ranged from 2,000 to 20,000 euro,” she told Hong Kong Jewellery. Baselworld still represents a key appointment with their international retailers and the best environment to showcase their newness, says Bertoldo. She says Fope will participate in the fair next year.
Despite the lesser traffic, German pearl jeweller Gellner achieved a good result with high-quality clients this year. “We made some new contacts from Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States,” said Jorg Gellner, CEO. According to him, buyers were cautious and not willing to take risks as they were two years ago.
The Castaway necklace set in rose gold with Tahitian pearls and black diamonds at around US$4,500 sold well at the fair. “Our popular Rendezvous necklaces at around US$1,300 have been a big success this year. In general, delicate jewellery was more sought after at the show,” Gellner said. He gives an affirmative answer whether to be back to the show next year.
“Despite the many changes for the show, we still connected with our existing customers while meeting many new buyers who responded very positively to our new designs,” said Isabella Daniels of Yoko London. She told Hong Kong Jewellery that they still experienced good traffic. “Quality of buyers was very high, some of them were the best in the industry.” New buyers were mainly from Russia, Europe, the United States and the Middle East.
The latest Starlight collection featuring South Sea and akoya pearls with meticulous arrangement of smaller diamonds of various cuts, according to Daniels, was the star of the show with retail prices ranging from ₤3,000 to 20,000. “Our brand new Raindrop collection was also an enormous success. It ranges from ₤5,000 to 22,000,” she added. “We feel the show is starting an exciting new chapter. We will be participating in the 2020 show.”
Famed for its hand-crafted gold jewellery with traditional techniques, Nanis took part in Baselworld 2019 with enthusiasm. “This year the fair was very small. It was a challenge for us. But we are happy with it,” designer of the Valenza-based jeweller Laura Bicego told Hong Kong Jewellery.
For worldwide distribution, Nanis works with local retailers. In China, for instance, the brand started a partnership with Rico Gems in Shanghai. “The collaboration is going very well. Our partner is a high-end jewellery retailer representing several international fine jewellery brands. They also have shops in Shenyang and Taiyuan in China. Besides this, we’ve also developed a good partnership with One Jewelry in the country,” said Bicego.
Roberto Coin, Italy, introduced a sough-after collection Rock & Diamonds at the Basel fair. Inspired by the mighty symbol of obelisks of ancient Egypt, the collection features clear-cut lines with a pyramid-shaped crown. “The new models ideally combine the essence of gold and diamond jewellery with a contemporary spirit,” said brand founder Roberto Coin.
According to him, Baselworld attracts a high-calibre international clientele, which is the natural target group of the brand. When speaking of the changing business environment, he said: “The trend is towards more frequent purchases, sometimes with fewer expensive pieces since most people today want to buy more often. There is a demand for first-class services. Fortunately, we have managed to satisfy all of these needs,” he added.
Pascal Brandt of Bulgari told Hong Kong Jewellery that they did not see a significant change in visitor traffic despite the 22-percent drop. Instead, the Italian luxury brand achieved better order intake, he said. “Our pillar collections including Serpenti, Octo, Lvcea and Diva’s Dream were among the bestsellers at the fair,” he added. He attributed the successful participation to buyers’ confidence in the brand. When asked if Bulgari will take part in the fair next year, he said: “Basel can’t be avoided.”
Italian jewellery and watch brand Grimoldi Milano had a “very good” show where they launched special automatic watches from the Elia and GTO collections, as well as novel jewellery from the Anello Unghia, Cobra, Pace Amore and Medusa lines. “Although there were few visitors, we met new clients from all over the world. The buying sentiment was good. Baselworld is the most beautiful fair in the world. We’ll be back again next year,” said Giorgio Grimoldi, partner owner of the company.
Swiss watchmaker Chronoswiss saw a more positive fair than anticipated. “For us, it was a good fair, we will most likely take part in 2020 too. For an independent and family-run brand like us, there is no other way to reach out to this amount of international customers and media,” said Oliver Ebstein, managing director, to Hong Kong Jewellery. “The bestselling collection was the Regulator collection, in particular the retrograde seconde in a DLC (diamond-like-carbon) blue,” he added.
“The 2019 Baselworld was a real success for Hublot. Our novelties were really appreciated by our retailers and distributors. We didn’t see any change in the traffic. The buying sentiment was very positive as well,” said the Swiss watch brand. “The two bestsellers were the Classic Fusion Ferrari GT and the Big Bang Sang Bleu II.
“Baselworld is an important event. It is the occasion to gather some of the most important actors of our industry and also the media; therefore, we will probably be present next year,” said Hublot. It added that the final decision will be taken by the LVMH Group.
According to MCH Group,Baselworld 2020, scheduled for 30 April to 5 May, will feature numerous innovations such as new event and experience zones, new hall layouts and opening its door for end-consumers with special offers. As Michel Loris-Melikoff puts it: “We will tackle change with vigour and passion.”
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