Basel World 2010: Press Day
Before reporting on the Press Day of Baselworld I should make it clear that the life of an itinerant journalist isn’t as glamorous at it might seem.
Where as the first public day is Thursday, the first day of Baselworld is actually the Press Only day on the Wednesday, As you might expect for a Swiss event everything is laid on and as long as you follow the procedure everything will be fine, trying to get around the rules will not do you any good.
The press area is upstairs in the main hall with plenty of lockers for you to store your stuff, please take note SIHH, and a key can be yours for a 10CHF deposit, bargain. With a central area with about 50 internet PCs and a separate area with WiFi for laptop users everything is looking good. So pausing only to store the very heavy catalogue I set off to bluff my way into “The Palace”.
Opposite the Ramada hotel there is a rigid tent area which houses “The Dream Factory”, Rebellion and… Casio. Go figure!! This will be site for the Press lunch but I wanted to meet up with Peter Speake-Marin and Max Büsser before the show got too busy. Speake-Marin, MB&F, Christophe Claret and Urwerk have a nice dedicated area with comfy seats, demo rooms and soft carpet, very swank.
As I reported last week MB&F have the new Thunderbolt machine along with their watches, the one on show today however has the hands mounted and now it is clear that the layout is going to be time on one arm of the machine with the power reserve on the other. So this will be the first MB&F Horological Machine that has a conventional time layout, that’s a surprise. For a little bit of added spice Max B. wants to show the thunderbolt without the hands, but where to find a watchmaker when you need one? Well Peter Speake-Marin worked on Horological Machine No. 1 so can be trusted.
I can assure you there is nothing like watching a master at work.
Peter Speake-Marin’s stunningly simplistic “Marin 1″ © Speake-Marin
For Speake-Marin this year is about making the most of the in-house movement, the Marin 1. While much of the watch range is classically inspired and for one-off pieces clients can have any decoration they feel appropriate, there was one watch on display that was a bit of a departure. Based on a Roman numeral dial with the numbers at the quarters, the dial has been cut away between the quarters to reveal the movement. The remaining dial from the edge to the centre holds the numbers but rather than enamel they are “blued” with the numbers cut out and filled to make them luminous. With the oversize hands also luminous, this is an equally striking watch in daylight and at night.
So a good start to the day time to head back into the main halls. For press day the halls are open but generally unfinished, here you get to see the “greasy” side of shows, how all the magic works behind the scenes. The halls are generally pretty empty but the stock is usually on show so it is a great time to study the trends without being hassled by the booth staff or fighting with the large number of visitors that descend at the weekend.
The main halls are dedicated to the major brands with their huge stands, there are lots of watches on view but it all pretty standard fair and not the main stomping ground of “The Watch Lounge”. Then there are the jewelery halls but all the wonderful independent makers are in smaller venues around the periphery. The AHCI has a nice booth, by all accounts better than last years, with a range of members showing their watches and clocks. The star is most certainly Thomas Pescher with his “Anniversaire” watch that reminds you of birthdays and anniversaries, no excuse for missing your partner’s birthday ever again.
Next, interviews with a few, hopefully interesting, smaller brands, and then home to Geneva.
Life’s tough at the top apparently. More to follow.
Category: BaselWorld 2010, New This Week
Please keep the updates coming! I can’t wait to read about the new watches being unveiled at Baselworld this week.