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THE CENTURION GOES TO SWITZERLAND: VIDEOS OF NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS FROM THE BASELWORLD FAIR | March 14, 2012 (0 comments)
Basel, Switzerland—The magnificent two-story watch brand stands are open, the jewelry hall is sleek and elegant, and the crowds gather in the Messeplatz, waving to friends and carefully dodging the green trams.
Business at the 2012 Baselworld fair started off mixed—some vendors were breaking sales records by the end of the first day, while others worried this might be a repeat of the recession-weary events of the past few years. But as the show progressed, business picked up across the board and by the end of the seventh day many vendors were happy--and some were ecstatic.
A great collection of designer videos to come next week of new Basel intros, but here are several advance videos to have a look at:
Arman Sarkisyan, Edward Mirell, Michele, Ramon, Siera Jewelry.
Big, investment-quality stones were snapped up almost immediately despite lofty prices for both diamonds and rare top colored gems, especially rubies and sapphires. Fine emeralds were easier to find, though still costly, but the lack of ruby and sapphire at the ultra-luxury end of the market helped drive some demand for emeralds. For medium or lower-quality stones, buyers and vendors executed a delicate dance around price, with buyers waiting in hopes that vendors would drop prices as the fair progressed and they didn't want to take all their goods back home. Some were rewarded for their patience, but vendors who were in a cash position to be able to hold their prices did so, for the long-term better of their balance sheets.
“The Americans are back,” was the buzz in the halls. Indeed, the number of American buyers was quite surprising to many vendors, given the weakness of the dollar against many world currencies, including the Swiss franc. For the first time in this reporter’s memories of Basel, the dollar was in fact weaker than the franc, buying only about 0.85 to 0.90 cents of one franc at press time. Along with the Americans, eastern Europeans, Russians, Asian and Middle Eastern buyers helped to offset weaker demand from worried western European jewelers.