I still remember my first day at Baselworld like it was yesterday. The first time I attended the fair was back in 2013 just weeks after Watch Collecting Lifestyle was launched. Attending Baselworld had been one of my lifelong dreams as a watch collector. At the end of 2012, my spouse gifted me a trip to attend Baselworld in 2013 as a birthday present. Little did I know at the time, that this would give birth to what is today my full-time job. After my spouse planned the whole trip without sparing anything —premium tickets on KLM and a long stay at the Park Hyatt Zürich—, I decided to take advantage of the trip and put my marketing and media expertise to work and that’s how WCL was born. While my spouse and I are no longer together, I’m forever grateful for her gift. Without that trip, I wouldn’t be writing this feature today.
After settling in at the Park Hyatt, I took my first train ride into Basel, that magical city that I’ve heard about only through other watch publications that preceded WCL. The place where watch dreams and novelties came true, the Disneyland of watches and jewelry, the world’s largest trade show of its kind. With my beloved Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ref. 15300ST on my wrist —other watches, of course, joined the journey—, I savored every minute of that 53-minute train ride —sometimes an hour and eleven minutes depending on the schedule— into Basel.
For me, Baselworld was finally a reality and uncharted territory for a man who was a marketing maven and watch collector, but about to turn into a watch journalist. Upon arrival at the Basel SBB —train station—, the crowds were not there yet, but there was something special in the air. I still remember taking that very first wrist shot immediately after disembarking the train. Then, I headed upstairs via the escalators that I would take over and over every Baselworld for the next six years. And right there as I made my way to exit the train station, the unexpected, the first of many things that would make Baselworld so special, a small propeller plane hanging from the roof of the train station with Hamilton watches branding all over it. After exiting the train station I rode the tram that would take me straight to the Messeplatz where the fair would be taking place in a brand new building that had just been unveiled two months earlier and which cost CHF 430 million becoming the biggest investment ever to have been made in Switzerland's exhibition industry.
After a quick 7-minute ride, there it was, the brand new building developed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, an impressive architectural masterpiece with a built-over section of the Exhibition Square with its striking atrium called City Lounge. Majestic, modern and quite impressive. After picking up my press accreditation it was time to start exploring the exhibition grounds that were yet to open the next morning for Press Day, the day before the fair would officially open that was reserved just for journalists, and yes, I was one of them now. That allowed me to see the new watches before anyone else from the public and I felt very honored and very proud.
On that very first day, as soon as the main hall opened I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. These were not the usual exhibition booths you see at a trade show, these were massive multiple-story booths that were built like a permanent edification with hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling vitrines, glass decor, built-in bars, and even restaurants inside the booths. I honestly have never seen anything like this before, even with all the work I have done by then in the marketing and advertising industry. Oh and let’s not forget the massive fish tank spanning at least 30-feet wide which was Breitling’s signature look at the fair. Baselworld 2013 was simply incredible and almost unreal. Three floors, 160,000 square meters of exhibition space and more than 1,800 exhibitors.
That first day at Baselworld was unlike anything else I’ve experienced as a watch collector, it was a small piece of heaven and this was just the beginning. That day, I would’ve never guessed that year after year, Baselworld would start losing its charm and energy due to the greed of MCH Group and today, I would be writing this feature to talk about my first and also my last day at Baselworld.
Interestingly enough, on my first day at Baselworld 2013, Rolex unveiled the GMT-Master II ref. 116710BLNR ‘Batman’ and coincidentally on what I know can call my last year attending Baselworld in 2019, Rolex also unveiled the GMT-Master II ref. 126710BLNR ‘Batman’ but this time with a jubilee bracelet and a revamped movement. Call it weird, call it a coincidence, or simply a great way of saying goodbye to that watch fair that had been running for more than 100 years.
Even though my first day at Baselworld was on Press Day, the day after when the fair was officially opened to the public felt even more special. That day, I realized that Baselworld was really the epicenter of the watch and jewelry world with a fair that lasted almost a week and that used to bring in more than 100,000 visitors from all over the world. Honestly, that day I witnessed some of the best-dressed people I’ve seen in Europe. From journalists to authorized dealers, distributors, buyers, and all sorts of visitors from every corner of the world, the halls were so packed that you could hardly walk without bumping into others. Some of the most beautiful people with serious arm-candy were there and the energy was just incredible. Ultimately we all were there for the exact same reason, the watches.
That evening, after walking for hours from one booth to another, it was time to sit down and enjoy a glass of champagne outside in the area referred to as the City Lounge. The majestic atrium where everyone would meet after a busy day was buzzing with hundreds of people just having a good time. It felt fancy, welcoming and something greater than the sum of all its parts. Very much like a watch movement ticking with the pass of time. While that first year at Baselworld I wasn’t an insider but just the ‘new kid on the block’, the energy was so captivating and contagious, that I already felt I was part of the watch industry. Even though at the time, I had no idea what Les Trois Rois would have in store for me in the following years.
Baselworld 2013 was so incredible and memorable that it wasn’t that hard to look forward to the next edition of the show year after year. But then, in 2017 the show took a turn for the worst as MCH Group started making changes, increased fees and did nothing to fight against hotels and restaurants that would rack up their room rates and prices during the time of the fair. As expected, the attendance and number of exhibitors dropped drastically. Then, Baselworld was no longer what it used to be on that very first day in 2013 and its demise was clearly visible in the horizon.
Then after a somewhat average Baselworld 2017, the 2018 edition got even worse and the number of exhibitors continued to drop. Right after Baselworld 2018, the Swatch Group announced that they would no longer be at Baselworld from 2019 onwards. Even though Baselworld celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017, Baselworld 2019 appeared to be the cusp of its inevitable demise.
With a consistent drop in visitors since 2015, last year's attendance was down by a quarter. Even though MCH Group made attempts to refine the layout in the main hall after Swatch Group's departure, to me the fair felt very empty and with a low energy vibe that had nothing to do with my first day at Baselworld 2013.
Today, with Swatch Group and Breitling no longer participating at the fair, with LVMH having its own show at the beginning of the year in Dubai, and Baselworld 2020 cancelled due to the COVID-19, the news published yesterday seem to be Baselworld’s death sentence. Considering that Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard, and Tudor just pulled out of Baselworld to create a new trade show in Geneva in collaboration with the FHH in 2021, it looks like Baselworld 2019 could’ve been my last day at what used to be world's largest watch and jewelry fair.
And just like on my first day at Baselworld 2013 when Rolex released the GMT-Master II ‘Batman’ ref. 116710BLNR that at the time I could only see behind the glass —as I was not an insider yet—, at Baselworld 2019 Rolex released another GMT-Master II ‘Batman’ ref. 126710BLNR with a jubilee bracelet on what seemed to have been my last day at Baselworld ever. The only difference is that this time as a leading voice in the watch industry for the last seven years and a true insider, I was able to see the watch in the metal. Believe it or not, my last appointment at Baselworld 2019 was with Rolex and this was the last watch I tried on and photographed on that day. Some strange coincidence right there.
That same day, Saturday, March 23, 2019, before leaving Basel, I had one last glass of champagne under the atrium at the Messeplatz to say goodbye to the fair. This time unlike my first Baselworld, the City Lounge was almost empty in an eerie way. And just like on my first time at Baselworld, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak —this time reference 15400ST— was on my wrist, as I had one last sip of champagne and wished it wouldn't be my last time at Baselworld. In reality, it probably was the last time indeed.
