News from Baselworld (March 27-April 3, 2014): Swiss watch exports increased in the first two months of 2014. The crisis is behind us, more money is circulating in the world. It is reasonable to expect, therefore, that the times are also propitious for jewelry. The great Basel event, for a week the absolute capital of the symbols of luxury, watches and jewelry, with 100 thousand visitors, 1,400 exhibitors and 3,500 journalists (including the correspondents of Gioiellis.com), will be one of the most important in recent years: just think that 80% of the world turnover of the sector is generated by companies present at the fair. The group of Italians present is large, from easy brands like Brosway, to luxury artisans like Italian Design, to representatives of design made in Vicenza, like Pasquale Bruni. Not to mention the great (former?) Italian maisons like Bulgari. As for economic data, according to Jon Cox, analyst at Kepler Chevreux, “With respect to demand, this edition of Baselworld will certainly be one of the most uncertain after the slowdown in the sector due to the decline in China.” According to the expert, it is true that China recorded +1.9%, but this is a sharp slowdown in growth compared to the +10.9% of 2012. Purchases from Hong Kong, the leading market in terms of value, are down (-5.6%), and China as a whole has seen a 12.5% drop in purchases of precious metals and watches. Luckily, there are the United States, where sales rose by 2.4%, and the European markets (but not France). A trend that seems to be confirmed by the first data for 2014.
