Baselworld in Full Swing

Baselworld, the largest watch, jewelery and precious-stone show, opened yesterday. 1892 exhibitors, comprised of 627 watch brands, 736 jewellery companies and 529 related products,
present their newest products and innovations. 100,000 visitors from every corner of the world converge on Baselworld. Top Luxury Watch Brands display their exceptional timepieces in inviting booths where representatives of the companies are available to answer questions and take orders. Baselworld's unique welcoming ambiance creates the optimal environment for doing business. 3000 journalists cover the show, reporting on the latest watch collections and memorizing horological editions. Inviting food kiosks and discussion lounges are dotted around the exhibition floors enabling business meetings to ensue in the comfort.

One can peruse the exhibitions; marvel at their ingenuity and make some serious purchasing decisions all under one roof.

Rene Kamm, chief executive of MCH Group, the organizer of BaselWorld, was optimistic about the current luxury sector, which has largely recovered from the downturn in 2009, with further growth in the forecast for 2011. "The economic upturn was successfully rung in last year and the slump in the luxury goods sector is now a thing of the past.", Rene Kamm said

Although, baselworld takes place on the heels of Japan's recent natural disasters, no exhibitors canceled, Sylvie Ritter, Baselworld managing director said, however if the disaster has an effect on the amount of visitors will only be determined after the close of the 8 day event on March 31st.

A good proportion of the buyers are expected to stem from China, since currently Chinese luxury watch markets are growing as much as 35 percent a year . In fact a report released in November by Bain & Co. said that the Chinese luxury watch market was worth $2.34 billion in 2009. The five top luxury sought after watch brands are: Cartier, Longines, Omega, Rolex and Tudor.

This year BaselWorld runs from March 24th to March 31st in Basel, Switzerland.