‘BaselWorld’, as a word alone, has to me the ring of a film title about it. Hall names at this great annual get-together add illusions from which a freelance writer can easily suffer. After all, he has no home there; nowhere to put his piles of brochures, rest his weary legs, and forget his mobile. He is constantly on the move between appointments, early … on time but unmet, late and unforgiven, up and then down the wrong escalator, needing a loo but no time for it, no seats left for a meeting in one of the giant Halls across the tram-packed road … so he stands, and the headphone English translation of the speeches (already in the press pack) doesn’t function.
He is all of a confusion between loving and loathing the Halls of Dreams, Desires, Inspirations and Emotions. More than 10,000 different watch models are there in which to show the keenest interest, during long days when all he really wants to do is curl up and die in the Press Centre – but there are no chairs left. And he knows that his hotel room is still being made up. And anyway it is raining, and a long walk there.
But this correspondent has spotted an intelligent assignation of the Hall names. The Hall of Dreams houses the big boys (Patek Philippe, Rolex, the Swatch Group, TAG Heuer). The Hall of Desires contains aspirational brands (Alfex, Dior, Junghans, Technomarine) that long to be downstairs. The Hall of Inspirations is on two floors across the road, and is home to individuality, private brands, companies that prefer to be that bit away from all the hubbub (The British Masters, Bulgari, Clerc, Jacob & Co). The Hall of Emotions, on two floors at the back, beyond Dreams, has booths of companies that in general lack the touch of class that might one day propel them nearer the main entrance and the trams outside (Accurist, Adolf Hanhart, Invicta, Zeon). Yes, I know Citizen and Seiko are also there, but you get my point.
I am meant to concentrate on watches (I don’t cover jewellery) in these Halls – but this year I am left with an abiding memory of two new stands in particular, neither of which had anything to do with their products. One was Breitling’s massive tank of sea bass, hundreds of them swimming around for days above admiring crowds in Dreams. The other was that of Ronda, tucked away on the ground floor of Emotions. It was literally a steamy jungle, and fantastically effective.
As for the products themselves, here are some wristwatches that caught my eye this year: Svend Andersen’s revised Grande Jour et Nuit; Appella’s Infinitus, a great name for what it claims is the world’s slimmest watch (0.98 mm) within its category: Breitling’s Airwolf, a worthy addition to its famed Professional line; Charriol’s Ironwatch, with a case of 59 x 32.75 mm in the curved shape of a golfer’s iron club; Chopard’s annual Mille Miglia Gran Turismo XL; Chronoswiss’s wonderfully coloured Timemaster Chronograph Date, which can be stopped to the nearest quarter of a second and can add together fractions of a second for up to 12 hours; Clerc’s Icon8 Grande Date Double-Temps; Corum’s Admiral’s Cup Competition with 48mm case; DeWitt’s prize-winning Tourbillon Différentiel Rainbow Spirit Academia (and my own prize for the longest model name in the show); Frederique Constant’s Ladies’ Double Heart Beat (introduced by CEO Peter Stas at the show’s best open press conference, and which served the best cucumber sandwiches I have ever eaten); Hublot’s Big Bang Black Magic (the subject of a current massive advertising campaign); Juvenia’s Long Feng, a diamond-set, Chinese legend-inspired fantasy piece; Maurice Lacroix’s Masterpiece Le Chronographe; Patek Philippe’s Quantième Annuel; and finally Ventura’s ultra-cool v-tec Sigma, a batteryless automatic digital watch.
As a counterweight to the above listing, allow me to recall this year’s most unusual party. It was given by Breitling, and simply to celebrate the goodness and greatness of the brand. No anniversary or product launch. Just plain weird and wonderful. To readers looking for new party ideas – just read on … in my shorthand, for lack of space.
Met at remote bus station outside Basel – delivered in very long concrete tunnel (to be motorway underpass) – dry ice smoke everywhere and radio-active checks along way by ‘spacemen’ – towards end drinks available, in test tubes with straws or lemon slices (vodka) sticking out of massive ice blocks – David Andrews (Weir & Sons, Dublin) and myself considered reloading the narrow tubes in our own natural ways for latecomers – no such thing occurred – after half hour, giant metal doors opened by space-girls, who lowered ramps and beckoned us into a vast hall/spaceship – wine dispensed from two (red or white) oxygen cylinders on backs of pretty girls – bloody marys offered from blood plasma packets – waiters either spacemen with breathing apparatus, some with booster rockets, or topless all in black with balaclavas – BBQs everywhere – cabarets on four huge corner stages, with striptease girls using everchanging lightsticks as lapdancing poles – central silver and white fiercely lit disco – cold desserts served in half Heinz tins; dawn beckoned. OK?
A final summary: the Press Centre was better organised than ever and is now pretty near perfect, although many more lockers are needed; the Press Dinner at the newly reopened and splendid Trois Rois hotel on the Rhine provided an excellent evening in every respect.
But too many babies, children, and dogs (for Heaven’s sake); the cloakrooms shut far too early and no nice English sandwiches anywhere.



Source: Europa Star June-July 2006 Magazine Issue