Another bad blow for Baselworld: Gucci also leaves. At the Basel fair, scheduled this year from April 30 to May 5, the brand of the Kering group will not be there. And it will leave two empty spaces, given that last year the brand occupied separate exhibition spaces in Hall 1.0, one for jewelry and the other for watches.
Gucci therefore extends the list of discontented brands, in particular about the choice to postpone the date of the fair, as well as the costs associated with the exhibition set-up: restaurants and hotels in Basel have the reputation of having prohibitive prices. And, while the presence of Rolex and the brands of the LVMH group is confirmed, companies such as Breitling, Swatch, de Grisogono, Pasquale Bruni, Jacobs & Co, as well as many smaller brands, have given up.
Gucci refused to explains the reason for the decision. Baselworld, in any case, has admitted that the idea of postponing the fair to may to link it to Sihh, which in the meantime has changed its name to Watches & Wonders Geneva, an event dedicated to haute horlogerie, will not be replicated: in 2021 Baselworld it should return in late March or early April. But the verb should be used in the conditional.
Of course, the Basel fair is unlikely to return to the 2,000 exhibitors a decade ago. And it is even more difficult to say whether it will be the world center of watchmaking again: Baselworld, in fact, was primarily a showcase of Swiss watches until British jewelry designer Stephen Webster began exhibiting in 1999. In the following 12 years he was followed by many other brands, before a decline began that, perhaps, is not yet finished.
