Baselworld 2016- Diary/ Reactions

drunken monkey
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O Osmosis
I did that once and while it was very enjoyable but my word was I tired. Very long day!

Cannot speak for the TH stand this year as I was not there in person but it certainly seems like there as a lot more on show for the public. It is a bit hit and miss for some of the brands.

Have you been before?

I'm not that far from city airport; it's maybe a 15minute drive so it's not too bad.

And nope.
Past conversations with brand employees suggested it's not, or at least wasn't, very non-retail industry friendly. For instance, more than one brand boutique manager relayed to me that if they weren't there for work, it's not guaranteed that they have access either.

Having SalonQP here later in the year kinda makes Basel secondary, especially given that it is a show for enthusiasts as opposed to retailers.
 
O
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I lived in the City and went from the City Airport which was a few stops on the Tube, nice and easy just a lot of walking when you are there at the show.

Judging by your posts I think you will really enjoy Basel, any watch aficionado needs to put it on their bucket list. Great spectacle and on a scale that is hard to describe! My only word of caution would be for the most part you will not be able to speak to anyone on the stands as from what I saw they were not staffed to assist the general public. Saying that actually getting a ticket as a member of the public is no problem.

Point noted about the openness of SalonQP, but multiply it by a few thousand percent and you're getting close to the scale of Basel.
 
drunken monkey
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I don't doubt the scale but I'm a geek and the best bit of SalonQP is being able to geek out with people who actually know their stuff, be it history, watch-making or even global sales patterns/trends.
It's not every day you get to talk to Arno Haslinger about the Nikki Lauda Carrera that's sitting comfortably next to a Chronomatic Monaco (that everyone passing by don't notice/realise) or have a half hour chat with the head of uk retail about the change in retailer/customer/client relationships over their past 30 years.

That isn't to say I don't like looking and seeing new stuff, it's just that my interest goes beyond just the stuff of watches. I guess I fear being left unsatisfied because the watch is only part of the story for me.
Edited:
 
automobilia42
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drunken monkey drunken monkey
I don't doubt the scale but I'm a geek and the best bit of SalonQP is being able to geek out with people who actually know their stuff, be it history, watch-making or even global sales patterns/trends.
It's not every day you get to talk to Arno Haslinger about the Nikki Lauda Carrera that's sitting comfortably next to a Chronomatic Monaco (that everyone passing by don't notice/realise) or have a half hour chat with the head of uk retail about the change in retailer/customer/client relationships over their past 30 years.

That isn't to say I don't like looking and seeing new stuff, it's just that my interest goes beyond just the stuff of watches. I guess I fear being left unsatisfied because the watch is only part of the story for me.
If TAG Heuer is on the SalonQP 2016 I might visit London in November.
And I have had plenty of talks @Baselworld with people from sales, watchmakers, brand owners and for instance even the husband of Fiona Kruger, that you don't see that many female watchmakers, he agreed...
Here are some pics of me and the Glashutte Original watchmaker, I have sat down there for at least half an hour admiring his work, and we did a lot of talking, he even invited me over to get a look at the factory.
Same with Jorrit and Mr. Christiaan from Christiaan van der Klaauw watches, and Cameron at Bremont.
Cameron used to work at TAG Heuer UK before Bremont.
Also chatted with the lady from the TAG Heuer Boutique in New York at the Carrera Connected table, I gave her a tip to wear her normal watch on the left arm and the connected on the right one which she instantly did, haha.

IMG-20160319-WA0008.jpg IMG-20160319-WA0009.jpg IMG-20160319-WA0011.jpg
 
drunken monkey
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Great stuff.
I can't say if it's because there are very few independent visitors report from Basel but it does look much more accessible than previous years.

And yes, I only ever hear good things about the Glashutte people so it's good to get further confirmation.
 
automobilia42
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We were even invited for drinks between 18.00-20.00 at the Maurice Lacroix booth, but we forgot...oh well, maybe next year 😁
 
Hubert
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Calibre11 D.C
Also caught up with Christoph Behling yesterday- lovely guy. He's been the main designer for TAG Heuer for years now and confirmed that he also designed the Carrera Heuer-01. He felt that the modular aspect of that design now made more sense given there is now a range of these watches out there- so you get to see the benefits of being modular (i.e. that new models can be efficiently produced only changing a few parts).

We also talked about the size increase on the Monza. He felt that given the sporty nature of the new design relative to the more classic/ conservative design of the 2000 Monza, the larger size made good sense.
2015 article about him.
Heritage and Style at TAG Heuer
http://nyti.ms/1SYTtPB
 
C
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Bloomberg Business names the new Tag Heuer Monza as one of the coolest watches of Baselworld 2016.


Accompanying article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-18/the-best-new-watches-at-baselworld-2016

Every year Tag Heuer releases a new watch inspired by a vintage piece in its museum. This year, it came up with the Monza, a 42 mm chronograph with a black titanium case. It was modeled after a watch made 40 years ago, also called the Monza, after the Formula 1 track in Italy where in 1975 Niki Lauda solidified his World Championship win. In 1976, Jack Heuer gave the watch to the Ferrari F1 team, which is why you’ll note this version has the old Heuer logo (without the Tag). It will be made in a limited edition and cost $5,200.
 
Calibre11
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Alon at ACE Jewelers is certainly reliable, and if anyone would know the price he would.

Make sure you tell him that you are a Calibre 11 reader 😉
 
dtf
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Calibre11 D.C
Alon at ACE Jewelers is certainly reliable, and if anyone would know the price he would.

Make sure you tell him that you are a Calibre 11 reader 😉

Cheers for the recommendation, it's a nightmare trying to find non-grey market online watch stores.
 
C
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Really great 18-minute video overview of the major watch brands at Baselworld 2016.

Tag Heuer coverage starts at 8:27 into the video.

 
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