Long live the souk

History never really is erased. There are always traces that remain and bubble to the surface of the present from time to time. Take Basel, for example, or rather take BASELWORLD for example. Not too long ago, in fact, only about 20 years ago, the distinguished and chic `World Watch and Jewellery Show' was called `Mustermesse', or in other words, `fair of the samples'. It was a large and noisy hall where washing machines, cheese sellers, makers of pots and pans and other wares, winemakers and assorted others rubbed shoulders with - you guessed it - Swiss watchmakers.
It was not an uncommon sight at closing time to see these cheerful watchmakers breaking into song as they staggered along the corridors arm in arm with a winemaker friend who had come to present his latest vintage. The ambiance was friendly, very relaxed and even disorderly. The words `marketing', `business-plan' and `vertical integration' had not yet reared their ugly heads.
Something still remains of this past history. Isn't a good part of Basel precisely the vast mix that we see there? In spite of continuing efforts to improve the stands (a costly endeavor for those forced to do it), Basel still has somewhat the air of a `souk'. We can find a little bit of everything, from the most intricate complication and the jeweled watch covered with VVF diamonds to the cheapest plastic chrono or the weirdest invention from an apprentice watchmaker in search of his `Holy Grail'.
Behind the increasingly sophisticated three-story faÇades of the stands, we still can discover hidden passions, determined ambitions, success stories and big failures, hopes and dreams. Each year, I set off in search of the `marginal', the `unexpected'. How many people are attracted to the rays of watchmaking like moths drawn to a lamp? It never ceases to amaze me. Watchmaking has always and will always be a subject of profound fascination for a growing number of young people impassioned by this art, and who hope to find their niche in this market.
Sometimes their quest seems hopeless, so much so that we can feel the defeat coming. But often, too, we unearth surprising ideas that make us impatient for them to run their course. No other place but Basel allows this kind of encounter, this crossroads that gives the sector its spice, its vitality, whether in fashion, technology or, more rarely, in art itself.
But to be honest and objective, there is another reason for this attraction. Watchmaking is one of the few sectors where margins can, in successful cases of course, become extraordinary! The price of a watch depends on a complex equilibrium, wherein the true cost of material, labor and marketing can become relatively insignificant. Don't worry, friends, we will not mention any names, but often we see very poor watches, totally lacking in innovation with mediocre finishing, that sell for incredible prices, while in the next window high quality pieces sell for considerably less. Obviously the price of a watch has not always very much to do with its real value. Watch prices are subjective, depending on attraction, status, desire and image.
As long as it is this way and there is no reason to change, Basel will remain, under its increasingly `civilized' appearance, simply an enormous souk. That's life.

Pierre Maillard
Editor-in-Chief
Europa Star Magazine