Baselworld comes back, it’s the biggest event in the world dedicated to jewelry and watches. Visitors are expected 150 thousand, including 4 thousand journalists (even those of Gioiellis, of course), to identify the new products presented by 1,500 brands from 40 countries spread over 141 thousand square meters of exhibition. The fair is also a big business: according to the director of Baselworld, Sylvie Ritter, the event generates “800 thousand nights spent in Switzerland during the event, 13 thousand jobs across the country, and moves a turnover of 2.4 billion Swiss francs”. The Basel area has benefits from the trade show with 6,500 jobs and revenues of 1.2 billion francs, she said.
In addition to manufacturers of watches, Baselworld is also home to major players in the field of diamonds, pearls and precious stones, the machine suppliers and subcontractors. Here too there are news: for example, at fair you can visit the British company Cooksongold, that presents a 3D printer specially built for the production of gold jewelry. The printer M 080 promises to make jewelry with complex designs, which until now it could not realize due the difficulties in traditional production. The jewels are made layer by layer, with the merger of thin metal powder and a laser. In this way a jewel complex can be manufactured in a few hours.
In short, Baselworld is an event not to be missed. Some of the changes Gioiellis has just published, but there will be others to discover. But if the jewelry market seems to go through a period of reasonably good health, there’s some more problems for the one of the clocks. The markets of Germany, French and Russia are estimated to decline. In addition, the revaluation of about 25% of the Swiss franc is probably can damage on producers of the Swiss Confederation. Sales are better, however, in the United States, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East, although the decline of oil could soon curb it. “The Swiss watch industry is not in crisis, but we lack the visibility,” explained at Les Temps the President of the Fédération de l’industrie horlogère suisse (FH) Jean-Daniel Pasche. On the watches market, in addition, lies with the cyclone Apple Watch: can the smart electronic device depress sales of traditional watches? At Baselworld, perhaps, you will find an answer. Federico Graglia
Baselworld 2015
March 19-26 Basel, Switzerland
MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) LTD., 4005 Basel, Svizzera
Opening hours:
Daily from 9 am to 18
(except Thursday, March 26: hours 9-16)
