French watchmakers went to BaselWorld without a lot of hope, feeling that the gloomy global context called for a catastrophic show. With the worldwide economic slowdown, the war in Iraq, the outbreak of SARS in Asia and the forced departure from the Fair of exhibitors from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore, there was certainly reason to worry.

Still for all, most are saying today that the worst case scenario was in fact avoided. “French exhibitors did better than expected and, as a result, are anticipating more favourable activity than before the show,” according to a study conducted by the Chambre française de l'horlogerie et des microtechniques [French Association of Watchmaking and Microtechniques] (CFHM). In spite of the lower number of visitors, business was fairly good. “The quality of buyers made up for the lower quantity,” summed up the report.

For brands active in the middle of the haut-de-gamme segment, smiles seemed to be the order of the day. Others registered more mitigated results. In general, the show proved those who had invested over the last few years in improving their products for an upmarket move, thus leaving the unstable and overcrowded lower and mid-range sectors behind, had made the right decision. The CFHM also observed that companies, which presented new products or models of older lines with 'innovative designs', enjoyed a better response than others. Another sector that held up quite well was leather bracelet manufacturing.

“The brands who came, did not make the trip for nothing,” explained Yann Duclos, head of communication at Christian Bernard. “The contacts that we made were better than expected.” The company is happy with the BaselWorld experience, notably its results in the European market.

The same sentiment was expressed at Yema. “We are rather satisfied, and have no particular reason to complain,” declared Suzon Broussart, head of marketing for the brand. “We had less buyers than at previous Basel shows, but those who came this year came to work.” She admitted, though, like most of her French counterparts that she “was very much afraid” at the opening of the show. Other than having missed out on potential Asian market expansion, Yema and other brands indicated they had made 'valuable contacts' with the Middle East and Europe.

On another note, the lower number of buyers at the show allowed brands to spend more time with people who did show up and thus create closer and better ties than in the past. Some French exhibitors perhaps used their free time to express surprise to the editors of the watch supplement of the noted French newspaper, Le Monde, which was published for the Basel occasion. Not a single French watch was featured in this special issue, which goes to show that no one is a prophet in his own country.

In any case, returning to the BaselWorld Fair, it is not surprising that watchmakers did rather well this year, in spite of the 22% decline in visitor numbers. For many months, the American President George W. Bush has been carrying out an extraordinary campaign for 'time', making many references to this elusive commodity. Before the war in Iraq, he shouted loud and clear while pointing a finger at his chronograph that “time was running out for Saddam.” Later, he sent his tanks and troops in a race against time to arrive in Baghdad as quickly as possible. Finally, he again pointed to his watch, declaring that “the time for democracy and reconstruction had arrived.”

The only thing left for us is to find out which brand his chronograph is so that we can discover what time the alarm will sound for the turnaround in the economy, if indeed it has that option. One clue, as you might guess, is that his watch is probably not French …