BASEL, Switzerland — Here are some key take aways from the press day ahead of the official opening of the Baselworld watch and jewelry fair.
The traditional opening press conference began on a somber note with organizers revealing the unexpected death overnight of Jacques Duchêne, longtime president of the Baselworld Exhibitors’ Committee. Attendees held a minute of silence in his honor.
Smart watches were a key topic of debate, with Baselworld managing director Sylvie Ritter estimating that more than 10 traditional Swiss watch brands would present connected watches at the fair this year. Nonetheless, she played down fears that the Swiss watch industry may face a crisis of the magnitude of the introduction of quartz watches in the Seventies. “To those who think the millions of connected watches that are expected to be sold will destroy high-end watchmaking, I would reply that personally, I am convinced that these are two universes which can perfectly coexist,” she noted. Later in the day, Tag Heuer chief executive officer Jean-Claude Biver said the Swiss watch brand, famed for its Carrera and Monaco timepieces, would make an announcement on Thursday about the launch of its future smartwatch with “two giants from Silicon Valley.”
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Tag Heuer also said it was bucking the trend of price increases implemented by many other brands in the wake of the Swiss National Bank’s decision in January to de-peg the Swiss franc from the euro, leading to a sharp appreciation of the Swiss currency.
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“The brand will refrain from raising its prices in the euro zone. Conversely, there will be an average price reduction of 8 percent in Switzerland, China, the USA, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, of 7 percent in the United Kingdom and 13 percent in Hong Kong,” Tag Heuer said in a statement.
It was standing room only at the Hublot stand, where Israeli model Bar Refaeli, the brand’s first female ambassador, made a personal appearance to help Hublot unveil projects including 10 watches priced at $1 million each to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Big Bang model. Hublot ceo Ricardo Guadalupe also revealed a collaboration with Italia Independent on a watch and sunglasses.
Chanel said it will launch a new ladies’ watch, dubbed the Boyfriend, in September.
A teaser clip at the Gucci stand showed images of producer and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am with the logo of his firm i.am+, which last year unveiled the i.am.Puls fashion bracelet. Gucci ceo Marco Bizzarri was spotted in Basel ahead of a press conference at the stand, scheduled for Thursday.