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Baselworld 2015 press Gathering: 

• Swiss watch exports increased 1.9% in 2014

• Smart watches & Swiss currency most prominent challenges  

Baselworld officially begins today, Thursday 19th of March but Wednesday was the opening press conference for the world’s largest watch and jewelry show.  Smart watches were a major focus of the press conference where two of the three speakers said they view the new timepieces as something that can co-exist with the traditional Swiss watch industry. No one viewed it as a threat. Sylvie Ritter, Baselworld managing director, said that the past year witnessed some fundamental changes that included the unpegging of the Swiss franc to the euro, the crisis in Russia and Ukraine, the decline of growth in China, and Smart watches. Ritter said “Smart watches have been around for years. Lots have already been written about them but it will have no effect on traditional watchmaking.” According to François Thiébaud, president of the Baselworld Swiss Exhibitors Committee the growth in the industry in 2014 was modest, the Swiss watch exports increased 1.9% year-over-year to nearly $22.2 billion. Thiébaud commented on the outburst of Smart watches he said “the watch crises of the 1980s was totally different.” 

Another topic at the press conference was the sudden removal in January of the 1.20 Swiss franc currency cap to the Euro. Thiébaud, said the currency change so far hasn’t impacted sales. Since January, Swiss exports have increased by 3.7% to $1.6 billion. The press conference announced the feath of Jacques J. Duchêne, former president of the Baselworld Exhibitors, who died Tuesday. It would have been his 60th appearance at the show, which dates back to 1917. 

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The width and breadth of product on offer at this year’s Baselworld are truly incredible. 2015 marks a return to traditional watchmaking values with the mechanical movement back in the forefront of timepieces. Here are some of the trends that are noticed:

• Classical products undergoing a shift towards cleaner lines 

• Skeleton worked dials that reveals the architecture of the watch

• Most brands are focusing on in – house movements and calibers with Manufacture driven spirit that     more than ever establishes the legitimacy of our watchmakers.

• Some brands are rediscovering their heritage and finding inspiration in models that have shaped history.

• Regarding the design side, a large number of white dails alongside blue and anthracite grey are noted.

• More women dedicated time pieces both with diamonds and without as well as releases supported with mechanical movements and complication

• The increasing influence of smart watches on the Swiss industry that was anticipated by the announcement of three Swiss watchmakers teaming up with MMT's Motion X technology platform to launch a gamut of smart watches this year.   

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Jean-Claude Biver, President of the Watch Division of LVMH had a very busy Baselworld press day

Love, eternity of Hublot, Zenith and Tag Heuer inside a watch box. 

Jean-Claude Biver, Chairman of Hublot and President of the Watch Division of LVMH, and Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot, unveiled the 2015 Hublot novelties culminating in a $10 million collection, the Big Bang Unico “10 Years” Haute Joaillerie. A very special year for the brand. 10 years ago, Hublot launched the Big Bang, now a watchmaking icon and a perfect illustration of the Art of Fusion concept, which is at the heart of all that they do at Hublot. Similarly, Mr. Biver attended the Zenith 150th anniversary and Tag Heuer first of two parts press conferences. According to Mr. Biver, Tag Heuer will reveal its approach to the smart watch in a press conference scheduled later on today.

With more traditional watchmakers starting to release ‘connected’ or ‘smart’ timepieces, Breitling is the latest Swiss brand to launch its version of a smartwatch. First and foremost the B55 Connected is still very much a traditional watch and includes Breitling’s B50 caliber superquartz movement. Breitling describes the watch as a new generation connected chronograph, given that it uses Bluetooth to connect with the Breitling app on your smartphone. Via the app you can more easily access the key features of the watch and are able to do simple things like setting an alarm or automatically setting the time whenever you land in a new time zone to timing flights or making a record of the exact a time a plane took off.

Graff Diamonds has unveiled a highly-unique transformable jewel that perfectly epitomises its diamond expertise operating at the very pinnacle of the luxury jewellery industry.  A true work of art, ‘The Fascination’ incorporates 152.96 carats of the very finest white diamonds. At the heart of the piece lies an exquisitely rare, 38.13 carat D Flawless pear shape diamond, cut and polished by Graff. An interchangeable element, this magnificent diamond can be worn as the centrepiece of a highly sculptural bracelet or placed into a bespoke shank and worn as a ring.

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Arnold & Son celebrates its 250 years of history by offering an exceptional model honouring both its British origins and the traditions upheld by the field of Swiss Haute Horlogerie, of which it is one of the finest ambassadors. In tribute to its founding father John Arnold, who together with his son produced the first marine chronometers to be offered in substantial quantities and at reasonable prices, the Instrument Collection DSTB beats to the tune of a new manufacture movement featuring one of the complications most closely associated with the House: deadbeat seconds.

Breguet’s latest creation, the Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde 7097 pays tribute to the “souscription” and “tact” watches made by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the late 18th century. Like them, its mechanism reveals the bridges, wheels, escapement, barrel and various other parts that are normally placed beneath the plate. The small offset dial at 12 o’clock – another characteristic of the great master’s legendary “à tact” watches – on the new Tradition 7097 model is overlapped by a retrograde seconds segment promoting optimal readability.

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More horology, more expertise, more innovation, more fusion: Hublot rises to the challenge and presents the first tourbillon in the new-generation Big Bang line, featuring a skeleton movement-a feast for the eyes-and the added practicality of a power-reserve indicator on the dial side. Designed, developed and produced entirely by Hublot, this mechanical calibre further confirms the brand as one of the very few watchmakers with the capacity to develop and produce its own movements.

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Introduced in 2014, the Patravi ScubaTec returns in a new execution that matches the functional design of a dive watch with the glimmer of pink gold for the case. A focal point of this uniquely seductive timepiece is the blue and black ceramic that circles the bezel. The dial, meanwhile, is finished with a pattern of scales that reflect the light, much like the shimmer on the surface of the waves. The Patravi ScubaTec is, of course, at home underwater where it makes the perfect diving buddy for deep-sea exploration, thanks to its 500-metre water resistance.

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Launched in 2013, the Gucci Dive collection extends to eight new quartz versions in a multitude of colours and effects. Water-resistant to 200 metres, they come in three sizes with a diameter of 32, 40 or 45 mm. In styles that are classic, on-trend or sporting, with or without the distinctive green-red-green striped Gucci strap, the Gucci Dive collection highlights Gucci Watches' natural ability to give different personalities to a single concept, injecting a dose of Italian design into the world of sport.

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While the history of Movado is brimming with milestone events, including more than 100 patents registered and over 200 international prizes won since its founding in 1881, the year 1947 was a momentous date in the evolution of the brand and indeed of design as a whole. Based on the principle that time measurement is first and foremost linked to the Earth’s rotation around the sun before being a mathematical division, artist Nathan George Horwitt drew an entirely numeral-free dial bearing only a 12 o’clock dot symbolising the sun at its zenith. Acclaimed for the purity of its design, this model went down in history as the Movado Museum® Watch. The brand now presents its new Museum® Classic model.