Over the last eight days, watch and jewellery manufacturers and suppliers from 45 nations presented their exclusive new products and top of the range collections in Basel, at the 34th annual BASELWORLD. 2'529 journalists (up 7.2 % on 2005) from every continent came to report on the event.

Delighted exhibitors welcome an overwhelming
number of visitors

Visitor attendance can only be described as overwhelming: 94'200 visitors from over 100 countries, thereby representing a new record for BASELWORLD and an increase of +5% over the previous year. Exhibitors described the quality of visitors as excellent and were delighted with the levels of business conducted and sales figures attained.

After the Show had closed, Jacques J. Duchêne, President of the Exhibitors’ Committee commented “We are very happy and can genuinely report that this has been an excellent BASELWORLD. Everyone was very pleased with last year’s event but, thanks to the higher number of visitors, economic prospects for this year have proved even better. As exhibitors, BASELWORLD each year becomes increasingly important to us".

François Thiébaud, President of the Swiss Exhibitors at BASELWORLD also stated: “The 2006 event has gone exceedingly well for us. We have received some outstanding feedback from the industry. BASELWORLD is an indispensable event for us, not only for commercial reasons but also from the information exchange aspect”.
Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard, underlined this point: "BASELWORLD is a very successful show with an impressive worldwide presence. This prestigious event is an essential date in the calendar”.

The importance of BASELWORLD is strongly highlighted by the amount of business conducted at the show. “BASELWORLD plays a particularly important part in the development of our business” emphasized Nicolas Beau, International Director of Chanel.
The unique opportunities for networking and information exchange afforded by the World Watch and Jewellery Show were also very much in evidence at the event.
Sadry Keiser, Marketing Manager of TAG Heuer, assessed the show as follows: “This Show is not only crucial for sales but also for the presentation of our brand: BASELWORLD is a major shop window for us”.
The same was true for Christophe Chaix, Sales Director of Hermès who stated “This is THE place to meet our customers. Sales figures were very positive indeed”.

The “First Avenue” a new milestone

One of the highlights of this year’s World Watch and Jewellery Show, and a milestone in the development of the event, was the new “First Avenue” in the Hall of Visions. For the first time ever in the jewellery sector, due to infrastructure innovation, multistorey stands were able to be constructed, providing an incomparable platform for world-renowned luxury brands.

David Yurman, owner of the David Yurman brand, was convinced: "BASELWORLD has again provided me with the best environment in which to present my brand to the world”.
Equally satisfied with the Show, Francesco Spanedda, Marketing Manager of Pasquale Bruni in the First Avenue, commented: “BASELWORLD is essential for our business and it is here that we introduce our new collections. The customer contacts we made this year exceeded our expectations”.

Increased media interest again

The enormous media interest was reflected in the number of accredited journalists who attended the event - 2'529 from over 70 countries - representing an increase of 7.2 % over the previous year. “Reports written in specialist publications are very important to us. We were extremely pleased with the number of media contacts and the quality of our discussions with journalists”, commented Thierry Oriez, Deputy General Director of Baccarat.

High level of satisfaction amongst visitors too

A representative survey of exhibition visitors also revealed a high level of satisfaction. 97% of those questioned judged the World Watch and Jewellery Show to be good, very good or excellent, with 96% describing BASELWORLD as a “must“.

Established and ready for the future

The Show’s management team is convinced that BASELWORLD has now established itself at the uppermost level of the industry.
“Whilst we are now in a consolidation phase, we will continue to showcase the worldwide developments of an immensely vibrant market for watches and jewellery” stated Sylvie Ritter, Show Director of BASELWORLD. She underlined the management team’s commitment to continuing to develop the global importance of BASELWORLD. “We are dealing with a dynamic event in a market which is equally dynamic. If we anticipate the changes ahead and react promptly to those developments, we will face a very successful future”.


BASELWORLD 2007

BASELWORLD 2007 will take place from April 12 – 19, 2007 in the Basel Exhibition Centre.


2006 dates: March 30 to April 6, 2006
2007 dates: April 12 – 19, 2007
Venue: Exhibition Centre Basel
Organiser: MCH Messe Schweiz (Basel) AG
Internet: www.baselworld.com
E-Mail:[email protected]

Visitors in 2006: 94'200
Exhibitors in 2006: 2,127
Gross surface area: 160,000 m2
Net surface area: 111,283 m2
Accredited Journalists: 2'529