Tuesday, April 5th
The day began with a call on Bell & Ross, to see the new BRO1 Instrument Collection (see Europa Star 2/2005) and was somewhat overwhelmed by these highly innovative square timepieces. Bold (46 mm), yet exceptionally well designed and comfortable on the wrist, the four models – from a simple hours, minutes and seconds version to a chronograph - each have their own distinctive character, their own movement. There is also a genuinely eye-catching red gold version.
Isabelle Corigny, the Bell & Ross PR and Advertising Manager who had dutifully and patiently shown me the timepieces, informed me the Collection had been so successful that the first production run had completely sold out.
After my first lunch of the Fair, I left the Hall of Dreams to go to Façonnable in the Hall of Desires, where Michel Benatar, the brand’s Director and designer, introduced me to his latest creations. There were some important extensions to existing collections, however, his two new collections, Carnevale and Dôme Clover, are truly stunning. The Carnevale Collection for ladies, influenced by the Italian Renaissance period, is elegantly different with either rounded or square ultra-thin cases decorated with architectural forms and set with triangular-cut diamonds, pink rhodolites or blue topaz. Completed by white, pink or blue mother-of-pearl dials they cleverly combine a classical look with a contemporary finish.
But it was the Dôme Clover Collection that had me oohing and ahing. A classic barrel-shaped case set with diamonds in a new clover setting and enhanced by a deeply curved sapphire crystal, the watch is stunning. There are four different mother-of-pearl dials, white, black, pink or sand-coloured and the four numerals, 2, 5, 7 and 10, are partially on the sapphire crystal and partially on the watch case. Original and stylish, like all Façonnable’s watches they are equipped with the brand’s remarkably uncomplicated interchangeable strap system – so simple to use that even I managed it.
Façonnable produces some really exciting watches and since the proof of the pudding is in the eating, sales reached 32,000 pieces in 2004 – an increase of 73% over 2003 - 90% of which were gem set.
Back downstairs in the Hall of Dreams I had a meeting with Eric Oppliger, the CEO of Paul Picot. Having already written about the brand’s new Technograph (see Europa Star 2/2005), I wanted to see the working model since I had only previously seen the prototype. I wasn’t disappointed. It is a superbly crafted, innovative watch and the 18 carat pink gold version is nothing short of stunning. In addition I was shown Le Plongeur C-Type Chronogaph (see the Sports Watches section) and a highly colourful Firshire Tonneau 3000 Regulator. In stainless steel (49 x 37 mm) it is equipped with a self-winding exclusive Regulator movement, Calibre PP 1100, base 2892-A2 movement. Small seconds are at 6 o’clock, date display at 9 o’clock, power reserve at 3 o’clock and the dial is patented depending on the Limited Edition. An official Chronometer C.O.S.C, it has a domed sapphire crystal and an alligator strap or a stainless steel bracelet.




Façonnable, Paul Picot


On my way out of the stand, Franco Boiocchi showed me the very colourful Méditerranée Collection of sports watches that comes in 12,000 variations of colours, dials, stones and various straps. The base price of the collection is 580 euros and can go up to 5/6,000 euros depending on the model.
Dinner that evening was at L’Escargot, a private affair with Roger and Serena Khemlani, the couple behind the very versatile Voilà watch brand.

Wednesday, April 6th
It was now Wednesday and not only did I have aches and pains, but also, inexplicably, I felt as if I hadn’t actually seen anything. On my way to Kolber though, I bumped into Robert Brodmann – Fredi to friends – a very talented designer and artist, who informed me that “If you wake up in the morning without any pains … you’re dead!”
Be that as it may, I met with Philippe Thivolet, the General Manager of Kolber, who must be one of the straightest talking and least pretentious individuals in the watch industry.
“With our watches priced between 200 and 800 Swiss francs you can’t be pretentious,” he stressed. “We’ve been a brand for twenty years. We are a simple, humble, hard working company. I’m fed up with all these so called leaders saying I, I, I, we should all be saying ‘what about the we, my team …
“We’re not pretending to be anything we’re not. We’re not a ‘manufacture’, we’re here to offer something simple and affordable to the consumer!”
That philosophy and simplicity which they label ‘Affordable and authentic luxury timepieces from Geneva’ now sees the Kolber brand in 36 countries with its four collections: Passion, Petite, Action and Eternel.
For BaselWorld, there were three new models – in the Petite, Action and Eternal collections. The most imposing of these is the Action Chronograph. In stainless steel with 166 Cubic zirconium crystals in a diamond setting on the bezel, it offers the usual chronograph timings, day/date and permanent seconds functions. It looks great, and as the man says, it’s genuinely affordable.
Back downstairs I afforded myself a moment of pure luxury by visiting the de Grisogono stand. Beautifully decorated more in the style of a private residence than a Fair stand, the staff moved busily and quietly around carrying one display tray and looking for another. The most popular seemed to be the new Occhio (see Europa Star 2/2005 and the next edition 4/2005) not only to see this remarkable timepiece, but also to hear the melodious chimes as it strikes the hour.
The new and very elegant Instrumento Grande in 18 carat pink gold or stainless steel is another very welcome addition to the de Grisogono collections. However, it was the introduction of the brand’s new ‘brown gold’ that captured people’s attention. The very latest de Grisogono creation – the Power Breaker – launched at the recent Cannes Film Festival, can be seen in the Sports watch section.




Kolber, de Grisogono


A kilometre later I was back upstairs to see the latest DeWitt models. The Academia Tourbillon Differential is an extraordinary piece (see Europa Star 2/2005) and the two new ladies’ series in the Alma Collection, Utopia and Tempia are uniquely original. Of particular interest was the Utopia. Beautifully designed and crafted it is presents a new manner of reading the date (patented by De Witt) by using two different retrograde hands; the one at 12 o’clock indicates a 0, 1, 2, 3, for the double digits of the date and the other at 6 o’clock indicating 1 to 9 and a 0 for the single digits. As can be seen in the illustration, the date is the 15th. The oval watch is in 18 carat white gold and is equipped with a self-winding ETA 204-9111 movement with a power reserve of 40 hours. The dial is in mother-of-pearl and the bezel is set with coloured gemstones or diamonds and is completed by a satin strap.
Returning to the Hall of Dreams in a dreamlike state, I met with Jean-Paul Girardin, Vice President and Mathieu Brunisholz the Merchandising Manager of Breitling to see the fabulous new Mulliner Tourbillon (see the Sports Watch section) and the Aerospace Avantage . Breitling innovates continually and is responsible for an impressive number of inventions in the watch industry. These two models are also milestones in the brand’s history.
Next I walked through the Swatch Group’s stands - without stopping for a coffee in their alluring Swatch Café - for a viewing of the latest offering by Blancpain. Impressive, but far too important to mention en passant, there will be an article in the Europa Star 4/2005 edition and in particular the 6-watch Apotheosis Collection (a snip at 577,000 Swiss francs).
My last visit of the day was to Rolex, where an exhausted Dominique Tadion told me about the evolution of the Rolex Oyster Datejust and the GMT-Master II and then affectionately brought the new Rolex Prince Collection.
The Prince was created in 1928 and soon became a collector’s item because of the elegance of its rectangular case and its exceptional performance. The 2005 version has been completely redesigned and the aesthetics of the case are mirrored in the guilloché movement, which for the first time ever in a Rolex watch can be admired through the sapphire crystal caseback. It has a certified chronometer movement and the guilloché dial comes in three styles: Clou de Paris, Godron and two versions of the Rayon Flammé de la Gloire.
As is always the case with a Rolex watch, the workmanship is superb and the matching guilloché work on the dial and the movement is highly innovative. However, the revelation of the movement through the sapphire crystal is, for Rolex, more than a simple evolution, it’s a revolution – and a very welcome one.




DeWitt, Rolex


Wednesday evening, the last evening in Basel, is reserved for the Europa Star team to reminisce on what’s been seen, missed or overlooked and there’s usually a touch of sadness in the air as we prepare to leave friends and acquaintances and eat our last veal and rösti for yet another year.

TO BE CONTINUED...
In the forthcoming days, the rest of this lenghty survey will be added to our europastar website.

BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 1
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 2
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 3
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 4
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 5
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 6
BASELWORLD & SIHH: Part 7


Source: April -May 2005 Issue

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