The names of the exhibition halls are enough to give you an idea of what to expect, grandeur-wise. Hall of Dreams, Hall of Desires, Hall of Inspirations, Hall of Sensations, Hall of Visions and last but not least, Hall of Fascinations. Are you feeling tingly yet? I think we all need a Hall for Cooling Down because last week’s visit left me and some of the other 103,200 visitors feeling ever so slightly flushed with excitement. The luxury brands have a way of awakening our senses and getting us all caught up in their surreal whirlwind of glossy shops, unbelievable product displays (not to mention the products themselves) and seriously sexy advertising campaigns. Baselworld encapsulates all of these elements.
If you think it’s all about the Supreme Titans (Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Swatch Group etc), think again. Whilst they do of course occupy as much of the prime ground floor space as possible there are many other megabrands fighting for supremacy just round the corner, proving that they can keep up with the rest, thank you very much.
Best Stand goes to Gucci for total Hollywood glamour but as far as product is concerned, we fell in love all over again with Chanel’s fantastic 21st century icon, the sporty J12, which still has unbelievable pulling power. Following on from the previous white and black versions, we were treated to a new version of this sporty stunner, the Chromatic, a silver-grey titanium ceramic creation, generously offered in 7 different variations.
Bell & Ross are clearly at the top of their game thanks to an increasingly strong brand and equally powerful product. They may be large and they may be square, but these timepieces are just beautiful in their simplicity and the colour choices are spot on. If Military is your vibe, this is about as good as it gets. Speaking of square we also rediscovered Rado’s Jasper Morrison R5.5 models, nothing new here but still just as thrilling as it was first time round. The Italians’ love of excess is a delight, not in the Bulgari sense, but in the almost comical sense over at U-Boat. I did think that Bell & Ross were pushing it in terms of size, but the guys at U-boat really do show us how size matters.
Sporty luxe seemed to sum up one of the main directions at this year’s event, and clearly the colour black in all its different metallic hues is a big favourite and very much on trend this coming year.
For me it’s all about June and the new J12.
