Countdown to Baselworld 2014

A week from now Baselworld doors fling open unto an eager crowd of watch and jewelry enthusiasts, buyers, boutique owners, journalists and seekers. From March 27th to April 3rd, show goers will venture from hall to hall and event to event gathering information about new styles, prices and brands. Old friends will meet, new ones made, contacts forged, orders arranged and signed upon the dotted line. Seven informative Baselword Daily News issues ,available online and at the show itself,  keeps visitors abreast of "must-see", news and current trends. A Baselword App on your i-phone, i-pad, blackberry and android provides useful interactive information.

I have outlined a brief Pre-Baselworld Virtual Walk to Navigate the halls. Keep in mind, this is just a hint of what awaits you at the show.


Hall 1.0 is a given to go with highly popular prolific top notch brands such as Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Phillipe, Tissot, Hublot, Tag Heuer - you get the gist.

Breitling for Bentley 6.75 Midnight carbon

Hall 1.1 houses a bejeweled assortment of high end brands - famous for gem encrusted watches and jewelry  such as House of Graff, Boucheron, Jacob &; Co. and of course de Grisigono.  Great Sporty brands such as Edox, U-Boat and Clerc are displayed among high end accessory brands such as Hermès, Dior and Chanel. Seiko holds a prominent place being in a category of its own.
Quite a few lessor known brands are within these walls, but favorites are found all around.  Europa Star spans one wall - an excellent watch news source.
 Hall 1.3 showcases affordable brands such as Invicta, Follie Follie, Guess and Casio.

Jacob & Co. Epic SF 24

International Brands
Hall 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 is abundant with jewelry - each booth displaying originality in design and expertise.
Eterna, Ball Watch USA holds command of Hall 5.0.
The Palace is by far my favorite Baselworld local, housing unparallelled watch making expertise.  HYT renowned for its hydro mechanical timepiece is at P03, while at P06, the edgy and daring Artya brand  rubs shoulders with the elusive Haldimann Horology.

HYT H2 Forged from Titanium & White Gold with Blue Fluid

 The Palace is abundant with complex complications perfected by MB &F, Konstantin Chaykin (genius in watch design) and Christophe Claret.  Badollet - keeper of my favorite design and De Bethune- creator of the finest blue  are found at P01 and P02 respectively.

Badollet Ivresse like a Painters Pallet

Hall 3.0 and 3.1 is abundant with jewelry and gem.
Hall 4U holds necessary tools for the trade and Hall 4.0 and 4.1 are National Pavilions.



Unlike the exclusive SIHH , where visitors must receive an invitation to attend, Baselworld is open to the public without prior registration.  Simply show up and purchase your ticket "on-the-spot" or online at www.baselworld.com. Prices are quite affordable at CHF   60.-for the day or CHF 150.-for the week.

Coming from far and away without a place to stay? Enjoy some Swiss Hospitality at the Mövenpick Hotel Egerkingen. If you wish to be a bit closer to the action, a room at the Hotel Alexander Basel is a stones throw away. Zürich is  a 90 minute train ride away with hotels galore ready to welcome a Baselword traveller. But whether you come by land or air, it is on the water you can stay.  Book a floating room on the "Hotel Ship" for the duration of your trip. A free shuttle bus will transport you to the show - just 15 minutes away. 

The show does not end at closing time, Baselworld Village is open from 6pm until 2am.  Restaurants and Bars provide prime places to seal a deal over some fine wine and delectable dine.  

For the best and most productive Baselworld experience planning is crucial, but  the most memorable moment may just be chance. Make a memory, a deal, a contract, a sale, a moment.  Come to Baselworld.

Gift Pick for the Professional & Adventurer.

Movado Men's Luno $795.00

You can never have too many wristwatches, and you can never go wrong giving a watch as a gift.  Imagine a gift without the nagging feeling of  "What if he doesn't like it.?"
With a watch you will be certain your gift will be much appreciated.
First you must know a little about your guy - the image he wants to portray and what he wants from his watch.
 If your guy needs to convey a professional attitude I always like the Movado Museum Collection.  The watch design is instantly recognizable and devoid of clutter.  The watch itself displays the epitome of organization and clear thought.  It was what Nathan George Horwitt - designer of the museum dial had in mind - a single dot.  He was a follower of the Bauhaus movement, designed a watch with no ornamentation besides for a gold dot at the 12 o'clock representing the sun at high noon. In 1959 the "dot at the top watch" was excepted into the Design Collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art becoming known as the "Museum Watch".

$499.99 Save 75%

For the rugged adventurer in your life always zipping off to one place or another -pouncing into a  Land-rover off to spot a family of mountain lions or to rock climb a precipice - you need a watch which is shock resistant, water resistance, hand indicator luminescence and preferably rubber strap (lightweight, less likely to slip, easy to clean).  There are a couple of really rugged timepieces:
Invicta Men's Subaqua Chronograph Black Rubber - aside from the fact that it is 75% off at The Watchery, there are many advantages for the adventurer. This particular model has a great water resistancy - up to 1650 feet.  I always like to stress that if one is in a situation of high water pressure such as navigating water rapids, one needs a higher water resistance than if one is merely in a swimming pool.  The extreme force of water on the dial can compromise the water resistancy. In addition this watch has a chronograph and tachymeter.

Price $4,410.00 Save 65%

A great rugged mid range watch collection,  is the WYLER Geneve Men's Code R Automatic Chronograph.  Wyler Geneve specializes in shock absorbency- creator of the signature Incaflex balance wheel.  The Incaflex balance wheel is protected along its diameter by two curved elastic arms absorbing shock to the balance wheel. In addition the watch case is shock absorbing crafted from highly resilient and corrosion resistant titanium and black carbon fiber. The hands are silver tone and luminous enabling the adventurer for time read out in the dark.  Another great feature is the flexible black rubber strap allowing for maximum wrist mobility.  Scratch resistant Sapphire Crystal protects the Swiss made mechanical automatic chronograph movement.  I like mechanical watches on long adventures since the mainspring is wound by the swinging motion of ones arm. Since this is a mechanical timepiece, no batteries are needed, which is a good thing, since where is our adventurer going to get batteries in the Gobi desert. This watch is capable of a power reserve of 42 hours. The Wyler Men's Code R is equipped with  "ZULU" (Z) time (for aviation or military purposes) or GMT (Greenwich MeanTime).

Stay tuned for more of my top watch holiday picks from The Watchery. 

10 Good Reasons to Purchase an Invicta Watches

 Invicta Watches are good quality watches for reasonable prices, and that's not a coincidence - it was the vision of Invicta Watches founder,  Raphael Picard, when he started the company back in 1837 in La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland.   For over a century Invicta created mechanical automatic timepieces of exceptional craftsmanship and unique design at prices people could afford.  The "Quartz Scare" dealt a powerful blow to the operations of Invicta, and the company went under.  However, just like the resilience of Invicta watches today, Invicta reemerged in 1991 thanks to the descendants of Raphael Picard. They never lost sight of the founder's vision of creating good quality watches for affordable prices.  

Men's S1 GMT Blue and White Dial Blue Polyurethane

3) Invicta combines different watch materials to create 100's of different styles and colors.  The Invicta Men's G-Force displayed at the top of the post, sports a Titanium Case and a bold arrangement of Polyurethane and Titanium.  

4) The dials of Invicta watches are protected by a Flame fusion crystal (Flame-Fusion™ is an Invicta trademark- 2009), which is a cheaper alternative to the more traditional Sapphire Crystal, and has greater scratch resistance than mineral crystal - used in older Invicta models. In addition the Flame fusion crystal is a much clearer window to the time. 

5) Many Invicta watches have a highly efficient lume on the dial hands and hour markers.  The lume is known as Tritnite® only exclusive to Invicta. Tritnite® requires an initial 4-5 hours of exposure to light after which it will maintain its phosphorescent properties with regular light exposures.   In Invicta Luminary Sports Collection luminous tubes or mb-Microtec H3 are fitted into the area's requiring luminescence.  This technology was first used in military operations, with luminescence 100x greater than traditional lume. The luminescence was so bright , soldiers were made to wear a cover over the watch to prevent being recognized as a target. 

6) Invicta Watches are big, some coming in at 58mm like the SEA HUNTER CHRONO, an impressive watch if one has the wrist to wear it. When buying an Invicta, pay careful attention to the size of your watch. For a point of reference most very large men’s watches are 48mm. So if you want a big watch, Invicta's got you covered. 

7)  Invicta Watches are shock absorbent like The GRAND DIVER PRO AUTOMATIC, which  is a mechanical self-winding shock resistant timepiece.So if you are in a situation where you gotto shake rattle and roll, your Invicta timepiece will keep on ticking, just the way you like it.  

Women's Subaqua/Noma III GMT White Leather

Invicta Reserve/Venom

8) Since this is a seriously hot summer, (the thermometer tops 100 F today), the cool refreshing water is a calling, but what about your watch.  I mean you don't want to take off your watch, leave it on the beach and next thing you know its disappeared down a crab hole. NO! You want to swim with your Invicta on your wrist. Invicta sees to this dilemma too, don't you worry. Most Invicta watches are water resistant to 100 meters, although not suitable for diving, is fine for surfing, swimming, snorkeling, sailing & water sports. For serious diving, Invicta Sea Hunter Chrono and Arsenal II Chrono Collections are water resistant to 300 meters, a depth suitable for Scuba Diving. For the Ladies, The LADY SUBAQUA NOMA IV AUTOMATIC (image above)  collection, has a water resistance of up to 500 meters. Many Invicta models are water resistant to 660 feet and some like the Invicta Men's Reserve/Venom  are water resistant to 1000 meters.  

9) Invicta watches, not only are precise time tellers, but are bold and confident addition to ones wardrobe and image - meant to be noticed. I mean just check out  The Men's Lupah Automatic Chronograph Diamond Black Leather $499.99

On sale for 90% off the MSRP.  Now that's an image maker.  The case is Gunmetal ion plated stainless steel (it screams - don't mess with me); dial is sunray gunmetal; strap is black leather, but what is an image without a touch of bling. There are 53 white encrusted diamonds on hour markers and Arabic numerals.

10) Depending on your watch requirements, Invicta sells watches to suit your needs.  

• Compasses - as available in its Invicta Coalition Forces Collection  

• Diver’s Scale on the turning bezel in some diving models. This function lets the diver preset the time submerged in minutes.  Some Diver Scale Watches are beneath the crystal and must be turned using a pusher at the 9' o'clock position.
• Chronograph - Invicta has a huge array of timepieces with a Chronograph Fuction - the Invicta Sea Hunter Collection, Arsenal II Chrono Collections, The S1 Sports Chrono, Corduba Chrono Sport, just to name a few.So if you ever need to measure the duration of an event, Invicta Chronograph watches will serve you on style.

10) Invicta in Latin means “Invincible”, a name with origins dating back to ancient Rome, and with the message of "invincibility" strapped to ones wrist, the problems of the day somehow seem manageable.