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[BASELWORLD 2011] Virtual Tour (by DVL and Pix)- Tons of awesome pics here.
- Thread starter Pix
- Start date
Incredible! Looks like an exciting day, and some great watches! Thanks for sharing, I'm subscribing to this thread!
Thanks for sharing guys, looks like you had an awesome time. So curious to see what the gay Hublot looks like.
I don't think so, looks like the standard model?
Who made this one?
It looks like a standard asian skeleton movement :lol: lol
Who made this one?
It looks like a standard asian skeleton movement :lol: lol
Thanks! Great pics - sorry about the press kit though.
So - what watch does one wear when you go to Baselworld??
I think I would probably wear a vintage Gen...
Getting called out with a rep there might end you up in a room with a couple of very big Swiss guys - think "Casino."
So - what watch does one wear when you go to Baselworld??
I think I would probably wear a vintage Gen...
Getting called out with a rep there might end you up in a room with a couple of very big Swiss guys - think "Casino."
Pix already gave you the tour, I will only be able to enhance this a bit.
I am a journalist, communication is my passion. Baselmesse kindly invited us to join them for the "press day" one day ahead of the official opening.
I will get to emotions later but my first impression was AWE. Gens look so much better. I was especially drawn to the booth of Phillipe Patek, Ulysse Nardin and Hublot. Patek was simply stunning and proudly displayed their movements which really left me drooling.
We saw a wide array of displays, ranging from "sophisticated" (Rolex) via "distinguished" (Patek) to creative (Blancpain/Glashütte with their own watchmakers and workbenches) and of course blatant display of wealth. But we also saw the lower-end watches and the hall with the fashion watches was actually almost depressing
The companies in hall 1 spent absurd amounts of money for their booths ("buildings" would be more correct). LOTS of security all around, bunches of policemen and -women and e.g. at the Rolex booth you were questioned by the two security guards at the entrance. Pix had a hard time getting in - but he got in and that's what counted. All in all there was a distinct lack of interest on behalf of the exhibitors. Only a few companies like Rolex or Sinn had elaborate press kits. Some, like Bell&Ross or Breitling, just handed out a card with a link to the web site. Thank you so much for your unprofessional approach, guys
Also there was (almost) no loot which amazed me somewhat. I was hoping to get some brand stuff for some forum give-away action, but (almost) no cigar. We got a set of black and green olives as a present from France at the press conference, lol. And of course foods and drinks were free. Pix liked the white wine at the press lunch, for the record.
Bear with me - the camera had problems with the lighting and my poor iPod is not really ideal for videos. As the first commentary said: I am not a good camera man.
Copyright notice (but who cares on a replica forum): All pictures and panoramas here are from me unless I indicate another source.
Baselworld 2011 is the world's largest fair on behalf of jewellery and watches.
The fair is held in the quaint town of Basel in Switzerland, right at the border to Germany.
They have a cute entrance there with moving waterfalls
[AME]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psHbUdaZdLY [/AME]
Jewellery Brands
Nice surroundings
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8gwnrvwcgY"]YouTube - IMG_0003.mp4[/ame]
We participated in the official opening press conference. Very impressive organisation. Simultaneous translators for German, English, French and Italian (in the cabins above). The press conference was packed.
There was some interesting content in the speeches but some idiot stole them off me so the facts are just off the top of my head. About 1,182 companies from all over the world exhibited at Baselworld. We saw a lot of Chinese people there, they also had their own hall for their products.
The party for the journalists was so important for them, it got its own slide
Taking counterfeits seriously:
Trends and developments for the watch industries. Very interesting but they did not share the slides. Also the turnover was impressive, Asia almost double that of the US. Africa -1%, maybe oil is running low or the prince has them all already.
The press lunch was very cleverly put in hall 4 so we moved among the first exhibits. Very posh, Vertu and stuff ...
The buffet was quite tasty, they don't serve journalists bad food there. Pix had white wine, guess from which country he comes from
We stood next to the Ulysse Nardin mobile phone booth.
Now that was interesting. They integrated a watch movement into the phone. The movement converted kinetic energy into power and reloaded the battery of the Android phone. Admittedly a gimmick. At 13,000 USD retail, lol.
Close-ups
In this box is a hands free speaker set, you can play music there, USB connector, etc.
REAL diamonds, hand set, babe.
Video:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoPmr3CIEDY"]YouTube - Ulysse Nardin Phone (Model)[/ame]
We passed Corum (no photos there) and went straight for Rolex and Patek Phillipe.
Milgauss (the security glass really f*cked with my cam, couldn't get decent shots)
The new Explorer with white dial. Dealers, please rep this!
Ugly duckling:
DSSD (damn lights)
Lovely displays:
Tudor
Next: Ulysse Nardin
I am a journalist, communication is my passion. Baselmesse kindly invited us to join them for the "press day" one day ahead of the official opening.
I will get to emotions later but my first impression was AWE. Gens look so much better. I was especially drawn to the booth of Phillipe Patek, Ulysse Nardin and Hublot. Patek was simply stunning and proudly displayed their movements which really left me drooling.
We saw a wide array of displays, ranging from "sophisticated" (Rolex) via "distinguished" (Patek) to creative (Blancpain/Glashütte with their own watchmakers and workbenches) and of course blatant display of wealth. But we also saw the lower-end watches and the hall with the fashion watches was actually almost depressing
The companies in hall 1 spent absurd amounts of money for their booths ("buildings" would be more correct). LOTS of security all around, bunches of policemen and -women and e.g. at the Rolex booth you were questioned by the two security guards at the entrance. Pix had a hard time getting in - but he got in and that's what counted. All in all there was a distinct lack of interest on behalf of the exhibitors. Only a few companies like Rolex or Sinn had elaborate press kits. Some, like Bell&Ross or Breitling, just handed out a card with a link to the web site. Thank you so much for your unprofessional approach, guys
Also there was (almost) no loot which amazed me somewhat. I was hoping to get some brand stuff for some forum give-away action, but (almost) no cigar. We got a set of black and green olives as a present from France at the press conference, lol. And of course foods and drinks were free. Pix liked the white wine at the press lunch, for the record.
Bear with me - the camera had problems with the lighting and my poor iPod is not really ideal for videos. As the first commentary said: I am not a good camera man.
Copyright notice (but who cares on a replica forum): All pictures and panoramas here are from me unless I indicate another source.
Baselworld 2011 is the world's largest fair on behalf of jewellery and watches.
The fair is held in the quaint town of Basel in Switzerland, right at the border to Germany.
They have a cute entrance there with moving waterfalls
[AME]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psHbUdaZdLY [/AME]
Jewellery Brands
Nice surroundings
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8gwnrvwcgY"]YouTube - IMG_0003.mp4[/ame]
We participated in the official opening press conference. Very impressive organisation. Simultaneous translators for German, English, French and Italian (in the cabins above). The press conference was packed.
There was some interesting content in the speeches but some idiot stole them off me so the facts are just off the top of my head. About 1,182 companies from all over the world exhibited at Baselworld. We saw a lot of Chinese people there, they also had their own hall for their products.
The party for the journalists was so important for them, it got its own slide
Taking counterfeits seriously:
Trends and developments for the watch industries. Very interesting but they did not share the slides. Also the turnover was impressive, Asia almost double that of the US. Africa -1%, maybe oil is running low or the prince has them all already.
The press lunch was very cleverly put in hall 4 so we moved among the first exhibits. Very posh, Vertu and stuff ...
The buffet was quite tasty, they don't serve journalists bad food there. Pix had white wine, guess from which country he comes from
We stood next to the Ulysse Nardin mobile phone booth.
Now that was interesting. They integrated a watch movement into the phone. The movement converted kinetic energy into power and reloaded the battery of the Android phone. Admittedly a gimmick. At 13,000 USD retail, lol.
Close-ups
In this box is a hands free speaker set, you can play music there, USB connector, etc.
REAL diamonds, hand set, babe.
Video:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoPmr3CIEDY"]YouTube - Ulysse Nardin Phone (Model)[/ame]
We passed Corum (no photos there) and went straight for Rolex and Patek Phillipe.
Milgauss (the security glass really f*cked with my cam, couldn't get decent shots)
The new Explorer with white dial. Dealers, please rep this!
Ugly duckling:
DSSD (damn lights)
Lovely displays:
Tudor
Next: Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin with a nautic theme
UN watches are simply among my favourites.
Enamelled dial. Art, maybe not beauty, but art. Our replica kings would put a printed sticker there
Nice dial:
Adore this one, wish I had this with a good dial (mine is not properly printed, d**b repmakers)
The novelty at the show: Nice PVD with red accents
Le Freak:
Did I mention that the lighting was difficult?
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NGX9LwYml4"]YouTube - Ulysse Nardin Freak[/ame]
El Toro:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB55r4JYXLA"]YouTube - Ulysse Nardin El Toro[/ame]
On to Hublot, just around the corner
At the inside Hublot had some nice chandeliers, but it was just too crammed to take proper pictures.
A flashy demo at the entrance. I should have taped more, this was really well done.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gvo57ROUjc"]YouTube - Hublot Demo at Baselworld 2011[/ame]
What can't be seen in the pictures: They had a LCD overlay on the glass so you would see a blinking HUBLOT like out of nowhere or nice flower designs. A lot of thought went into that (ad I should have taped it).
Still under the shock of having seen the Gay Hublot, I took a picture of some gen stands. Wow.
NOT my photo: The gay Hublot aka Leopard Big Bang
Next: Patek Philippe
UN watches are simply among my favourites.
Enamelled dial. Art, maybe not beauty, but art. Our replica kings would put a printed sticker there
Nice dial:
Adore this one, wish I had this with a good dial (mine is not properly printed, d**b repmakers)
The novelty at the show: Nice PVD with red accents
Le Freak:
Did I mention that the lighting was difficult?
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NGX9LwYml4"]YouTube - Ulysse Nardin Freak[/ame]
El Toro:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB55r4JYXLA"]YouTube - Ulysse Nardin El Toro[/ame]
On to Hublot, just around the corner
At the inside Hublot had some nice chandeliers, but it was just too crammed to take proper pictures.
A flashy demo at the entrance. I should have taped more, this was really well done.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gvo57ROUjc"]YouTube - Hublot Demo at Baselworld 2011[/ame]
What can't be seen in the pictures: They had a LCD overlay on the glass so you would see a blinking HUBLOT like out of nowhere or nice flower designs. A lot of thought went into that (ad I should have taped it).
Still under the shock of having seen the Gay Hublot, I took a picture of some gen stands. Wow.
NOT my photo: The gay Hublot aka Leopard Big Bang
Next: Patek Philippe
More to come tomorrow. Photobucket is giving me problems with some pictures. Photobucket is a royal PITA
One thing I need to add in between: Companies were very hesitant with press kits and would not let us get closer to the watches. They said: Go to the website, download official photos. They are better than what you can produce. Cool, every journalist likes to has the same material as the next guy, d'oh.
One thing I need to add in between: Companies were very hesitant with press kits and would not let us get closer to the watches. They said: Go to the website, download official photos. They are better than what you can produce. Cool, every journalist likes to has the same material as the next guy, d'oh.
Baselworld 2011
The next booth from "Jaquet Droz" was unfortunately unoccupied so we can only speculate about the cage with the mechanical bird.
Enamel painted dials:
Yay, horseys! Each to his/her own...
Breguet
Another booth full of horological masterpieces. Awe-inspiring. These watches look so pretty, any attempt to replicate it will utterly fail.
Peek-a-boo! This young lady kept removing the watches out of the display when we stood there to take photos. Probably due to some re-arranging, but nevertheless. Well ok, I thought: If you take away the watches, I shoot you instead. You should have seen the nasty stare she gave me afterwards. Look at her finely curvated brows
Watches and fitting cuff links. Maybe also the fitting tools lol
Breitling
A huge pavillion with a genuine fishtank.
The whole pavillon was closed, it was still under construction. I was handed a card when I asked for a press kit. "Download the pictures there". Oh yes, very helpful. Thank you for nothing.
So much for the fish. They still had a bit eye candy for us, though.
Next part coming up.
The next booth from "Jaquet Droz" was unfortunately unoccupied so we can only speculate about the cage with the mechanical bird.
Enamel painted dials:
Yay, horseys! Each to his/her own...
Breguet
Another booth full of horological masterpieces. Awe-inspiring. These watches look so pretty, any attempt to replicate it will utterly fail.
Peek-a-boo! This young lady kept removing the watches out of the display when we stood there to take photos. Probably due to some re-arranging, but nevertheless. Well ok, I thought: If you take away the watches, I shoot you instead. You should have seen the nasty stare she gave me afterwards. Look at her finely curvated brows
Watches and fitting cuff links. Maybe also the fitting tools lol
Breitling
A huge pavillion with a genuine fishtank.
The whole pavillon was closed, it was still under construction. I was handed a card when I asked for a press kit. "Download the pictures there". Oh yes, very helpful. Thank you for nothing.
So much for the fish. They still had a bit eye candy for us, though.
Next part coming up.
Baselworld 2011 Tour (continued)
Patek Phillippe
This was a very nice display, opposite of the spacious Rolex area. You could walk around all four corners of the pavillon and they had a broad display of all their watches.
View from the other side
The most informative part was an interactive display of all their movements. You could enter the number of a movement on display. Then the movement holder illuminated itself, the light in the box grew dim and a screen gave the details. I noticed someone who went through all the numbers. I only had time for a few, but they are millions of lightyears ahead of anything even AAA grade what we get. Frustrating, to behold such beauty.
Rep makers: Forget it ...
GMT
My favourite - I would love to have this one ...
(next part...)
Patek Phillippe
This was a very nice display, opposite of the spacious Rolex area. You could walk around all four corners of the pavillon and they had a broad display of all their watches.
View from the other side
The most informative part was an interactive display of all their movements. You could enter the number of a movement on display. Then the movement holder illuminated itself, the light in the box grew dim and a screen gave the details. I noticed someone who went through all the numbers. I only had time for a few, but they are millions of lightyears ahead of anything even AAA grade what we get. Frustrating, to behold such beauty.
Rep makers: Forget it ...
GMT
My favourite - I would love to have this one ...
(next part...)
Baselworld 2011 Tour (continued)
Gucci and Hamilton
Of no particular interest
Pequignet
Notice the shiny metal thing to the far right? This one made a lot of sound - animated sheet metal plates that clattered around in waves. WAY COOL.
Sheet metal in action
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1udy40-l6w0"]YouTube - Metal Movement at Baselworld 2011[/ame]
Edox
The booth was not finished yet, actually it was deserted. I later got a funny knife there (see end of the story). Generally the staff was utterly confused, but they had the occasional interesting piece.
There was this destro watch (lefty) with the red anodized pusher. This design is good for divers, especially if you wear thick gloves.
Please examine this cool watch: It is assymetrical. What they did was turn the movement clockwise a few degrees, giving the watch a whole different, assymetric look. Innovative. I wonder if the date switches over at 01:00 but who really cares at midnight...
The obligatory skeleton ...
..and again something sporty. Notice the inner ring. This is so they can re-set the bezel. Not practical for diving.
Union Glashütte
Nice breakdown of the movement
Work of art
(next ...)
Gucci and Hamilton
Of no particular interest
Pequignet
Notice the shiny metal thing to the far right? This one made a lot of sound - animated sheet metal plates that clattered around in waves. WAY COOL.
Sheet metal in action
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1udy40-l6w0"]YouTube - Metal Movement at Baselworld 2011[/ame]
Edox
The booth was not finished yet, actually it was deserted. I later got a funny knife there (see end of the story). Generally the staff was utterly confused, but they had the occasional interesting piece.
There was this destro watch (lefty) with the red anodized pusher. This design is good for divers, especially if you wear thick gloves.
Please examine this cool watch: It is assymetrical. What they did was turn the movement clockwise a few degrees, giving the watch a whole different, assymetric look. Innovative. I wonder if the date switches over at 01:00 but who really cares at midnight...
The obligatory skeleton ...
..and again something sporty. Notice the inner ring. This is so they can re-set the bezel. Not practical for diving.
Union Glashütte
Nice breakdown of the movement
Work of art
(next ...)