Baselworld Archives | gioiellis.com

Space to Novecentonovantanove

Published on March 29, 2023

Showroom

It’s name is Novecentonovantanove: the number is the brand of a Florence company specialized in tubogas bracelets and necklaces (but not only).

In 1999, in fact, a new jewelery brand was born in Florence: after long and heated debate the agreement was found on a name that recalls the year of birth, Novecentonovantanove (999). A number that is easy to remember, just as it is simple remember the style chosen for the products of the company that now belongs to Enzo Lazzerini: the classic tubogas. That is, those gold jewels made up of pairs of interlocking strips, with a shape reminiscent of gas hoses.

Bracciale tubogas in oro rosa con diamantj

The peculiarity of this process consists in the fact that necklaces or bracelets do not require welding. It was a popular type of jewel during the late 1930s and 1940s. The idea also reflects the need to make up for the scarcity of gold during the Second World War. The 999 tubogas bracelets or necklaces do not differ from the classic model: made of gold, often combined on the same piece in the different shades of yellow, white and pink. In some cases the jewels are embellished with diamonds, as in the collections with the greatest impact. Monica Battistoni

Bracciale tubogas in oro rosa e diamanti

Bracciali in oro bianco e rosa con diamanti

Niessing, lord of the rings

Published on April 15, 2022

Showroom/Rings

Anello Spannring in oro bianco e diamanti

The Bauhaus lives again in Niessing jewelry: the refined simplicity of design copyright.

Germany is the country where he was born Bauhaus. And that rationalist design movement emerged from Walter Gropius and co-workers in the thirties, continues to be a source of inspiration throughout the world and, of course, also in Germany.
So a German brand which has over 140 years of history, in the seventies built his headquarters according to the dictates of the Bauhaus and cultivates a passion for that ingeniously simple design also for his jewelry. Niessing, a company based in Vreden (North Rhine-Westphalia, bordering the Netherlands) is indeed synonymous with design. Its round rings, with a simple diamond stopped within the band of gold is of an exemplary simplicity, but also very difficult to make. And gold is not any yellow metal at 18K.

Niessing Spannring in versione oro giallo e diamante

A refined formula, Aura, allows Niessing to propose a gold that fades in different shades, or that has a color cast from green, pink, yellow, white, red. As in the version of his iconic ring once baptized Lucia. A name that alludes also to the ability to give light, with the brilliant cut diamond in full view, stopped with a sinuous variation of the golden band. Which also in this case is proposed in different shades of color. And that would have liked Gropius too, probably. Or in the Mirage collection, a game of illusions, super light gold and platinum jewelry, which received the German Design Award and the RedDot: Best of the Best: an almost hypnotic design that pays homage to geometry.

Collana con pendente Wave in oro giallo e diamanti

Bijan & Co, gems for queens

Published on March 12, 2022

COLLANE/alta gioielleria

Jewels worthy of queens of Bijan & Co, New York brand ♦ ︎
It defines itself as a brand specialized in majestic jewels, suitable for a queen. For once, the description is not excessive. Bijan & Co., in New York, is a company that collects jewels of known or unknown brands, but all of great value. Large necklaces of diamonds and precious stones, massive earrings for size and value, bracelets worthy of a maharani: these are pieces that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and, in some cases, exceed one million.

Exceptional pieces that the family-run company, led by Eliot Elihu, is able to find on the market and resell all over the world, especially in countries where the number of zeros following a figure is less important. The quality of the proposed jewels is called “museum”. They are pieces, that is, that not only have a value for quantity and size, that is, for the number of carats of the stones, but also for their quality that is at the highest level. The jewels that the brand shows every year are there to prove it.

Collana con diamanti e smeraldi a goccia

Collana con diamanti e smeraldi di Bijan & Co

collana rubini diamanti — Collana con diamanti e rubini

Collana con diamanti e smeraldi taglio smeraldo

Farewell Baselworld

Published on November 12, 2021

news

Baselworld 2019. Copyright: gioiellis.com

It was easy to predict. But now there is official confirmation: Baselworld is officially a defunct fair. Even if the organizers simply communicate that it is a pause for reflection. A very long pause, though. A press release from the Mch Group, the company that organizes (or rather organized) the great watch and jewelery fair, explains that «the organizers of Baselworld have decided to dedicate more time to the launch of the new concept. Baselworld, scheduled for spring 2022, will therefore not take place ». The decision also marks the failure of the project of the managing director Michel Loris-Melikoff, who therefore decided to leave the company.

The decision, which must not have been easy, “is based on the one hand on the experience gained from the Pop Up Event at the Geneva Watch Days and on intense discussions with manufacturers and retailers. On the other hand, it takes into account the fact that it is particularly difficult to launch a new concept for a new target segment due to the renewed worsening of the covid situation and the related uncertainty among customers “. The truth, however, is more painful: Watches and Wonders will be held regularly in Geneva from March 30 to April 5, with the big brands in the sector, as well as a selection of jewelry brands that have organized themselves for a parallel event that takes place calls Haute Jewels Geneva.

Over the past few months we have studied our ecosystem of watches, jewelry and gems in detail and gained important insights from discussions with key industry representatives. The bottom line is that the market exists for a B: B: C platform, bringing together mid-sized and specialty manufacturers with independent resellers. But their needs need to be analyzed in more detail. This means that we need to have much more time to reach it.
Beat Zwahlen, CEO of the MCH Group

Ingresso a Baselworld 2019. Copyright: gioiellis.com

The Swiss company therefore anticipates that «in the coming months an interdisciplinary team of the Mch Group will analyze the target segments and, in close exchange with manufacturers and retailers, will deepen their marketing and transaction needs. In this context, particular attention will be paid to the latest trends in marketing and distribution in view of the post-pandemic period, in particular internationalization and digitization. The goal remains to create added value for the community’s business in its reference markets with the internationally anchored Baselworld brand and innovative platforms ».

Baselworld 2019, scale mobili. Copyright: gioiellis.com

La piazza di Baselworld. Copyright: gioiellis.com

The small circles of Liliana Guerreiro

Published on November 1, 2021

Showroom/Rings

Liliana Guerreiro, the pleasure of design in Portugal ♦

Years ago she won the Best Piece of Jewelry Award at the Inhorgenta in Monaco thanks to her special design: an intertwining of threads and tiny circles that form gold and diamond jewelry. But not only. As in the Elementos collection, which uses the element of thread in an innovative way and small rounds that make up a sort of puzzle, or Malha (inspired by traditional nineteenth-century reliquaries), Cheio de Ramo (ironic use of filigree) and Fio , with the gold thread or in gilded silver used in different combinations of thicknesses, materials (gold and silver) and three textures.

Another peculiarity concerns the material it uses: 19-karat gold (instead of the usual 18-karat one), but also completely oxidized silver. Liliana Guerreiro is one of the best known Portuguese jewelry designers. She was born Viana do Castelo, Minho (north of Portugal), a land with a centuries-old history in the production of jewelry. Her work is inspired by one of the most traditional craft techniques, filigree.

First steps for the new Baselworld

Published on August 31, 2021

news

Incontro a Ginevra per la nuova Baselworld

First steps of Baselworld II. Its first pop-up event was held in Geneva, therefore far from its original location, but at the same time as the Geneva Watch Days, that is a press conference to present the new spirit of Baselworld, with ten independent brands and a program. The event is part of the preparations for Baselworld 2022, which will take place in Basel from 31 March to 4 April 2022.
Ten watch brands are collected (Claude Meylan, IceWatch, AHCI represented by Ludovic Ballouard and David Candaux, BA111OD Watch Concept, Bomberg, Furlan Marri, Ikepod, Riskers and Sinn Spezialuhren) all chosen for their independent profile, size and their distinctive placement under the new Baselworld banner, and participating in the new concept to showcase their novelties.

The idea of the new Baselworld, developed by the managing director, Michel Loris-Melikoff, includes both physical and online presence. The idea is to animate the community all year round 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The first meeting should be the debut of a multitude of live and virtual events that will take place on the new digital platform, which will be activated in the autumn of 2021. Original contents, events, networking, connections are new tools for the industry that have been developed and will be made available to brands to optimize their audience and business, all year round, in addition to physical meeting points.

L'evento di Ginevra preparatorio per Baselworld — L’evento di Ginevra preparatorio per Baselworld

Meanwhile, in Geneva, the program included an opening party, happy hour cocktail, aftershow and closing party. There was also a streaming of the interview between the director Loris-Melikoff and Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari, as well as with Aurel Bacs, senior consultant of Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, as well as a series of round tables on topical issues. such as the demystified blockchain with Gaetano Cavalieri, President of Cibjo, the World Confederation of Jewelery, whose member associations in more than 45 countries include more than 7 million people involved in the global sectors of jewelery and precious stones, the increase of Cpo (Certified Used, Watchmaking and Jewelery), Women in watchmaking and the art of collecting. Much of it will be replicated on a large scale at Baselworld 2022.

Baselworld returns in 2022. But will be different

Published on June 23, 2021

news

La cupola aperta che sovrasta la piazza che unisce i padiglioni della Fiera di Basilea

Baselworld is back. The largest jewelry and watch fair, however, will be different. How different? The point is precisely this: there are still, inevitably, many undefined aspects, as explained in an online meeting Michel Loris-Melikoff, CEO of the event, which is managed by the Swiss company Mch.

The last edition of Baselworld was that of 2019. But it was a smaller-scale event than in the past, after a long series of goodbyes by the big brands. The reason? Above all, the costs that have now become unsustainable: for a company, the presence at Baselworld could mean an expense of over 1 million euros, as the manager himself admitted. To the exorbitant costs has been added a lot of competition and, above all, the spread of communication via the internet. Ok, it is not the same as having direct contact with the manufacturer or viewing the object. But it facilitates contacts and, above all, it costs almost nothing. Above all, a physical space at the fair can now be obtained for about 20 thousand euros/dollars, which goes down to 5 thousand to participate in the digital platform alone.

Reasons that led Baselworld to a deep reflection, which has also lengthened due to the covid. So much so that at some point Mch had decided to eliminate the Baselworld brand altogether. Fortunately, the decision was changed. Now the fair returns. When? Between 31 March and 4 April 2022: but essentially there is still an agreement with Watches and Wonders, as it is now called Fhh, an event held in Geneva and reserved for haute horlogerie. The idea is to coordinate the two events, as was already planned for 2020. The uncertainty also testifies to how long and tiring the work of convincing companies to return to Baselworld will be long and tiring. According to Loris-Melikoff, the new Baselworld will primarily be a B2B platform in the mid-range luxury segment. A concept that profoundly changes the philosophy followed up to here, which favored brands such as Chopard, Rolex or Bulgari. All companies that have decided to leave the event in the Swiss city.

Business a Baselworld. Copyright: gioiellis.com

As explained, the future concept combines market trends of experience marketing with the needs of the entire community in the middle and upper segment of the watch, jewelry and gemstone industry.

After the coronavirus pandemic has stalled Baselworld in the past two years, we have taken a long time to speak with our partners and exhibitors. One thing has become very clear: the brand must remain, but it must radically change.
Michel Loris-Melikoff

The intention is that the new Baselworld will be less glamorous and more of a platform on which small watch and jewelry manufacturers and gemstone dealers will be able to showcase their products and retailers will have efficient and easy access to diversity of manufacturers. Not only that: it will also become a digital platform, complemented by live events, which will be available to the jewelery, watch and gem industry 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, around the world.

Il talk show di apertura di Baselworld 2019

The digital platform will be launched in the autumn, and is expected to be a forum for exchange between all relevant representatives of industry, the public and the media at Baselworld 2022. The goal is to use new tools for content creation, to enable maximum experience providing the opportunity to expand your network and exchange information on the latest trends. It will be the first independent platform that combines digital and live events.

According to Loris-Melikoff, everyone will meet on the platform: brands, manufacturers, retailers, fans and the media. “We will offer attractive conditions and prices for all brands that want to benefit from this unique platform”, assures the manager. Finally, the new orientation of Baselworld is in line with the strategy of the Mch Group, “confirmed by the new board of directors. on community platforms in selected ecosystems (international or national), the provision of experiential marketing solutions with holistic support for customers around the world and the management of the group’s infrastructure in Basel and Zurich ».

Gold, diamonds and GioMio

Published on April 13, 2021

Rings/Diamanti/bracciale/Showroom

Anello flessibile in oro bianco e diamanti

Gold, diamonds and the sober elegance of GioMio, fruit of the imagination of Georges Sabbagh ♦ ︎

The name perhaps sound Italian, but was born in Antwerp, the European capital of diamonds, from the initiative of a designer, Georges Sabbagh, of Greek origin. He, however, loves Italy and supports Ferrari. GioMio obviously offers gold and diamond jewelery. The style is recognizable: the jewels are mostly made of pink or white gold, with a diamond outline, often with a larger central stone surrounded by smaller ones, or with a pavé that helps emphasize the brilliance while keeping more content the price.

The jewels are made in Antwerp by local artisans, while the jewels are produced and made by the founder of the brand.

Even if the dominant theme is that of gold and small diamonds, jewels are not monotonous. There are collections, like Diamond Blossom, that can express a light and elegant personality. This collection, for example, reproduces the natural shapes of branches and flowers ready to bloom for spring. Giulia Netrese

Orecchini flessibili in oro rosa e diamanti

Orecchini a cerchio in oro rosa e diamanti

The ancient roots of Kohinoor

Published on April 9, 2021

alta gioielleria/Showroom

Orecchini con ametista intagliata e diamanti

The centuries-old tradition of Indian jewelry lives in the history of Kohinoor Jewelers ♦ ︎

Many coincidences make a proof: Agra is the Indian city where there is a jewel of architecture, the Taj Mahal. And Agra is also the home of Kohinoor Jewelers, a name that recalls the Koh-i-Noor, one of the largest diamonds cut in the world, weighing 105.6 carats: stone extracted in India and for centuries owned by various Indian rulers , and finally brought to Britain in 1849, where it is now part of the crown jewels. In short, Kohinoor Jewelers has the credentials to represent the traditional Indian world of jewelry.

Founded by Brij Gopal Mathur in 1862, Kohinoor Jewelers is aiming for the best. Most of his production is in perfect Indian style: opulent, rich in yellow gold.

The family, in fact, has a history that has its roots in ancient India: the Kohinoor were traditionally close to the Mughals of Delhi. Their ancestors moved to Agra in 1857 with the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, in the old walled city of Mughal Agra. This ancient tradition, now interpreted with more modern forms, is the basis of Kohinoor’s jewelry, which also offers exceptional pieces, such as the Himalayan Waterfall necklace, with sapphires and aquamarines that really look like a cool stream of water. Margherita Donato

Anello Splash in oro bianco, diamanti e zaffiri multicolori

Pendente in oro bianco e diamanti della collezione Zodiac

Orecchini in oro giallo e diamanti della collezione Zodiac

Orecchini in oro bianco, diamanti bianchi e neri, agata

Himalayan Waterfall, collana con zaffiri, acquamarina, morganite

The journey of Garaude

Published on March 4, 2021

Showroom/Orecchini

Anello in oro 18 carati annerito, 4 pietra di luna e un cabochon di rubellite

x

The journey of Garaude: the jewelry of a French through the trails that lead to the east, until to Japan.

Garaude, the French jewelry more easygoing, not close but not far from Place Vendome presents its specialty: the jewelry with colored stones and fantasy Latin. It all started with a trip in the seventies of François Garaude in Brazil, as a student of architecture and keen sailor. But the music and the colors of Salvador de Bahia, the native sculpture, and emerald mines they changed his life. Another trip to the US has served to learn the basics of gemology and jewelery techniques.

Anello in oro rosa 18 caratic con 2 indicoliti e 3 rubelliti circondate da 155 diamanti

Ten years later, Garaude has returned to France to work with some great Maison, thanks also to its fine search in the Asian markets stones: rubies, sapphires, jade also in different shades, a stone that still loves today not only in the classic green tone imperial, but also white, gray, black, lavender. Instead of 50 shades of gray, he has collected the 42 shades of the spinel, from red to orange, pink to purple. After so much experience and work, in 2010 he founded his Maison Garaude (with the help of Jeanne’s daughter). The ring Byzantium or the collection dedicated to the Japanese artist Hokusai testify ancestries refined, a style between East and West, an original design. And the journey of designer is continuing.

Anello girevole in oro com spinello rosso e diamanti

Pendente in oro annerito 18 carati, con quattro acquamarina e uno spinello rosso

Collana Medicis in oro 18 carati annerito, con 8 spinelli, 8 zaffiri naturali non riscaldati e 72 diamanti

Bracciale Byzance in oro bianco e rosa con acquamarina

Bracciale rigido in argento com quattro gemme di giada

Anello in oro rosa, titanio e 667 spinelli rosa per 13,97 carati

Maria Kovadi, jewels without borders

Published on February 5, 2021

Rings/Showroom

Orecchini in oro 18 carati su misura con zaffiri multicolori e tormaline paraiba

The jewels of Maria Kondakova-Kaltsidis and her Maison, Maria Kovadi ♦ ︎

Her history is rich, as her name indicates: Maria Kondakova-Kaltsidis. She is a designer with Russian and Greek origins, who lives and works in Zurich. Not only that: her jewels are made in Italy, while she studied in London at Central Saint Martins, and in America, at Gia. In short, Maria is a person with an international culture and experience. For simplicity she has called its Maison with the name of Maria Kovadi and her mission is to create original jewels, often unique pieces. She founded her brand in 2007, but the debut on the stage of important jewelery took place with Baselworld 2016. She also won the Lonmin Design Innovation Award in platinum.

The designer fell in love with the world of jewelery design in Italy, where her jewels are made.

The style is eclectic: in more traditional pieces there are jewels like those of the Tell me collection, which include words and short funny phrases. But also a cuff bracelet embroidered with gold, diamonds and silk threads. In short, different worlds united under the same brand. This is exactly what is expected of a designer with a multiple legacy. Alessia Mongrando

Collezione Tell me, orecchini in oro bianco con diamanti e labradorite

Anello in oro con micromosaico e smeraldo

Orecchini in oro giallo e rosa con diamanti

Collana cone pendente in oro, diamanti brown e micromosaico

Orecchini in oro, diamanti, calcedonio, zaffiri

Anello in oro 18 carati com diamanti e labradorite

Orecchino in oro e citrino a forma di conchiglia

The ex Baselworld (perhaps) returns in June

Published on January 27, 2021

news

While Vicenzaoro has canceled the March date to postpone it to September, the ex Baselworld is aiming for June. But with many question marks. The MCH Group, the company that organizes the Basel event, which was canceled after the forfeit of the most important brands and cornered by the covid, are back on track and and now plan the heir of Baselworld for June. In reality, the event will no longer be called Baselworld, but HourUniverse, and hopes to attract at least the world of watchmaking that does not participate in Watches & Wonders (ex SIHH), a Geneva event dedicated to the top of the watch market and which was scheduled from 8 to 12 April, but which has in turn been canceled. HourUniverse was originally scheduled in Basel, alongside Watches & Wonders, but the persistence of the epidemic convinced the organizers of the former Baselworld to postpone the event.

At the moment the new date has not yet been determined, but the idea is to set the appointment for HourUniverse in mid-June, although it is not excluded that yet another postponement will occur. On the other hand, the Reed Jewelry Group has also decided to postpone the JCK Las Vegas. The last Baselworld took place in 2019, amidst abandonments and controversy after the farewell of Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard: the big names had announced the idea of creating their own event, but no decision followed .

Baselworld, visitatore avvinghiato a due modelle

Antonio Papini, not just gold

Published on December 2, 2020

Showroom

The gold and diamond jewels by Antonio Papini, Tuscan jewelery ♦

Classic gold: chains, large, in yellow or pink gold, and sometimes white. And, perhaps, diamonds and ebony: Antonio Papini is a company that has completed half a century of life and has grown a little away from the classic areas where jewelry has developed in Italy. The headquarters, in fact, are in Empoli, a town near Florence. Since 1987, Antonio Papini specified, the company has developed the production activity marked by the 995 FI factory pusher. Just to say that behind the brand there is a well-established company in the panorama of Italian jewelery. Its production is mainly addressed to export.

Orecchini pendenti in oro giallo e diamanti

No flight of fancy for these jewels that enclose the simple but effective style for those who want to wear a gold jewel, visibly gold. But also with the addition of personality, as in the bracelet in which the segments of the jewel twist and the metal is worked inside in a sort of network, while the elements are linked by rings with pavé diamonds. The big chains, however, are never trivial. They can please those who have always loved this kind of jewelry, but also successful rappers.

Orecchini in oro rosa con pavé di diamanti

Collana in oro rosa con pavé di diamanti

Collana a catena in oro giallo 18 carati e diamanti

Goodbye Baselworld, Hour Universe arrives

Published on October 15, 2020

news

Hour Universe. The after Baselworld is (also) a play on words. Hour, an English word that indicates the time span of 60 minutes, also resembles to ours. In short, a universe that alludes to the concept of time, that measured by watches. After the sensational suicide of Baselworld, the most famous fair dedicated to jewelery and watches, the organizing company Mch has changed everything.

Hour Universe will take place in Basel from 8 to 12 April 2021, covid permitting. The new initiative is described as a hybrid platform for the watch, jewelry and gemstone community with a modern digital offering throughout the year, combined with physical meetings at the show. The planned and inclusive live event aims to facilitate networking and provide an experience based on the needs of exhibitors and visitors.
Mch also promises a new hospitality concept based on fair prices and supported by the local hotel industry. The exorbitant costs for participating in Baselworld were the deterrent that put the fair in crisis.

Uno degli allestimenti a Baselworld 2019. Copyright: gioiellis.com

Will Hour Universe be able to convince the big groups that have left Baselworld? It will not be easy. The big names in the luxury sector not only said goodbye, but also organized other events. Companies such as the LVMH Group greeted Baselworld, with brands that include Tag Heuer, Hublot and Zenith and the Maison Bvlgari, as well as Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard, Swatch and many others, including major jewelry brands. Many will participate in Watches & Wonders Geneva, an event that also brought the format to China. Other brands will organize events on their own. In short, the road to Hour Universe seems to be uphill.

Il booth di Jacob a Baselworld — Il booth di Jacob & Co a Baselworld

GemGèneve has also been canceled

Published on August 31, 2020

news

Another jewelry fair falls on the battlefield at the covid. It is GemGèneve, the event that in recent years took place in May and which for 2020 was scheduled from 1 to 4 November, obviously in Geneva. Surprisingly, Anthony DeMarco, a journalist specializing in the jewelry sector, reported it on Forbes.

The one scheduled for November would be the third edition of GemGèneve, which had already registered a good number of subscriptions. But the situation of uncertainty caused by the epidemic prompted organizers Ronny Totah and Thomas Faerber to cancel the date: travel restrictions and health precautions are certainly not preparatory to a successful fair. Unlike what happened for Baselworld, however, the organizers have made it known that all 145 expected exhibitors will be reimbursed (companies that participate in a fair pay the cost of the exhibition space in advance). A decision that causes significant losses to the organizers but which, for sure, leaves a good impression on the companies that had to participate in GemGèneve. The only event related to jewelry, therefore, remains Voice VicenzaOro (12-14 September).

Lo spazio riservato alla Head. Foto: G.Maillot

Baselworld in the hands of Murdoch jr.

Published on July 22, 2020

news

Baselworld, the former queen of jewelery and watch fairs, could be saved by Murdoch jr. Lupa Systems, an investment company managed by James Murdoch, son of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, has in fact offered about 100 million Swiss francs (equal to about 93 million euros or 106 million US dollars) to acquire a stake in Mch Group, the company that owns the Baselworld brand. According to rumors, it would be a purchase offer between 30% and 40% of company: the offer could save the Swiss company, which after the Baselworld debacle, canceled definitively, risks survival.

Indeed, the Bloomberg news agency predicts a decrease in Mch’s turnover of around 180 million by 2020, since Art Basel has also been canceled due to covid-19. Not all Mch members, however, agree to accept the proposal by Murdoch jr. The top of the fair company, on the other hand, seems in favor of accepting the entry of the Shark’s son (as his father Rupert was nicknamed on Wall Street). According to the Basel company summit, Murdoch jr. it could be the last train “before it’s too late”.

Baselworld changes its name and format

Published on May 15, 2020

news

The rise and fall of Baselworld. And now even the Mch group itself takes the flag and admits: Baselworld is definitively defunct. But it will come back under another name, perhaps with a different format. The world’s largest jewelery and watch fair, until three or four years ago, was canceled not only for 2021, but forever. It is a name that irritates, which however no longer attracts. This was revealed by a spokesperson for the fair at the WatchPro online magazine. An intention that emerged from the statements forwarded to the Australian Jeweler magazine by Michel Loris-Melikoff, managing director of the event.

Modelle di Jacob & co con i gioielli della Maison, a Baselworld 2018

Things have changed dramatically in the past weeks, especially in the event organisation industries. We were among the first to face the hard impact of the pandemic, and we will probably be the last ones to recover.
Michel Loris-Melikoff, CEO of Baselworld

The Baselworld name will therefore be abandoned. But the company does not give up and has anticipated a consultation with 600 potential exhibitors to launch a completely new event already next year. At the moment there are no known dates, formats and even the name of Baselworld 2 or what it will be called.

Meanwhile, the operation continues to reimburse exhibitors who had paid deposits for this year’s fair. It’s not easy. Despite the reassurances, in fact, it seems that the terms of the matter have not yet been completely settled. Exhibitors have until 31 May to request refunds, which will be paid, Mch promises, within ten working days.

Baselworld canceled for 2021 too

Published on May 7, 2020

news

The death sentence was written. And it was done. Mch Group, the company that organizes Baselworld, has canceled the date of the next event, scheduled from January 28 to February 2, 2021. The fair, scheduled for the end of April 2020, this year has jumped due to the coronavirus, but the death of that next year was decreed by the cost virus. And from the flight of the main watch brands, from Rolex to Patek Philippe, to the Lvmh group.

The problem of reimbursements the companies that had booked for the 2020 fair is resolved. The large groups would accept a refund of less than 85% proposed by Baselworld, thus favoring the refund to smaller companies. MCH Group and the Swiss Exhibitors Committee have indeed reached an agreement regarding this thorny aspect.

Modelle nel booth di Jacob & co a Baselworld. Copyright: gioiellis.com

“I welcome the constructive attitude of the representatives of the MCH group, which has enabled us to find a balanced solution”, testifies Hubert J. du Plessix, president of the Swiss exhibitors’ committee and director of Rolex. “I would also like to thank Patek Philippe, Rolex, Tudor, Chanel, Chopard, Hublot, Zenith and Tag Heuer, who, in a spirit of solidarity with the sector as a whole, have agreed on a lower refund, so that other exhibitors can benefit from better conditions. ”

And then? Is the Baselworld story really over? Of course the last word has not yet been written. Mch Group is considering whether to think or, better, rethink Baselwolrd’s formula to propose it for 2022. It will not be easy, but it is said that it is not impossible. It will also depend on the trend of the world economy and on the success of the Watch & Wonders formula in Geneva, where the major watch brands have met for next year.

Together with the exhibitors and visitors, we are working intensively on clarifying and discussing the requirements and options for new platforms. We will be taking a decision on possible follow-up formats by the summer and will then provide information on the new concept and scheduling.
Michel Loris-Melikoff, CEO of Baselworld

Débacle Baselworld, also leaves Lvmh

Published on April 17, 2020

news

If anyone ever had doubts, the coup de grace has came to Baselworld. The execution is in the form of a statement from the LVMH group. The Swiss watch manufacturers of the Lvmh Group, which include Tag Heuer, Hublot and Zenith and the Maison Bvlgari, took note of the abandonment of Baselworld by Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard, says the official note of the French group . “In this context of evident weakening of representativeness of the Swiss watch industry, the brands of the Division and the Maison Bvlgari have decided to cancel their participation in the Fair in order to preserve their image and relations with customers and the media. They will therefore not take part in the 2021 edition of Baselworld. The four houses are evaluating different event formats to present their strategies and product innovations to their business partners and the international press in 2021. The LVMH Watches Division on the one hand and Bvlgari on the other will comment on their future plans in the coming weeks, based on their respective objectives”.

We are very sorry to have to abandon this more than centennial event, to which our Maison were faithful. However, it is clear that, in these conditions, we must react quickly and develop other strategies. We have the opportunity to reinvent the format and content of one of the key moments of our watch year, which represented a great commercial challenge and a strategic lever for the influence of our brands. In this perspective, we will make every effort to be present with the other prestigious Maison that will meet in Geneva in April 2021, to meet the needs of our partners and customers and offer them a unique experience.
Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of the LVMH Watches Division

In short, the pillars of what was the largest fair dedicated to jewelry and watchmaking crumble. At the moment, it is difficult to think of a Baselworld devoid of its brands that attracted thousands of visitors and buyers from all over the world. Now the watch business is focused on Geneva. What about jewelry? Will the trend of hand brands follow?

Bringing the entire Swiss watch industry together in one place, Geneva, the historical watchmaking capital and in a single date, is a great opportunity to finally relaunch a sector weakened by too many divisions and divergent interests compared to the rest of the luxury sector of in which Bvlgari is the protagonist and which progresses much more rapidly. We can’t wait to go to Geneva in April 2021, although we have yet to define the modalities of our participation, which we will specify in the coming weeks. We are also pleased not to
having to compensate, as in 2020, for the absence of institutional watch fairs, which this year forced us to take useful initiatives in the short term but not strategic in the medium term.
Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of the Bvlgari Group

Jean Christophe Babin con Carla Bruni Sarkozy (da Twitter)

The virus-killing weapons of the Hong Kong Fair

Published on April 17, 2020

news

Jewelery fairs: while Baselworld is down and the Couture and Jck in Las Vegas have been canceled, Hong Kong International Jewelery and Diamond Show tries to leave for the third time, together with the sister event Gem & Pearl Show. Coronavirus has upset the programs of the jewelry world. And so the Hong Kong fair, originally scheduled for March and then postponed in May, has been rescheduled from 3 to 6 August 2020.

But the coronavirus spectrum could affect the participation of buyers and exhibitors. To reassure both, the organizers are focusing on strict health security measures. For example, visitors who enter the spaces of AsiaWorld-Expo will have to go through an installation that controls their temperature and sanitises the clothes and objects transported. To be able to eliminate dangerous coronaviruses, visitors’ and staff’s clothing and surfaces in the conference center will be sterilized using an ultraviolet system, which can prevent the growth of microbes for up to 12 months. In addition, the air and the premises will be purified with a broad spectrum liquid disinfectant, which kills viruses and bacteria. In short, it will be like looking at jewelry in a hospital.

Hong Kong International Jewellery and Diamond Show

hongkong — La fila per accreditarsi all’Hong Kong International Jewellery Show