Basel Exposed

People, I wanted to write article about the Basel Fair for 09. As you know by now my opinions are quite strong, hard hitting and I make no bones about telling it how it is from my perspective. I thought it would be interesting to have another opinion on the subject since I didn't attend the Basel Fair for 09. I don't like a lot of fluff and I write it as I see it. One man who I may not always agree with, but can respect his opinion and will remain anonymous and for now, and will be known as Long Dong Co-axial or LDC for this article to protect the innocent. LDC is an award winning journalist and editor in chief of a highly esteemed magazine in his field, and I thought it would be interesting to show you guys out there his opinion and perspective since he saw the product live and he just returned from Basel horny and ready to respond to my questions. Enjoy!



JF: How are you brother?
How was Basel this year compared to last year?

LDC:The Basel fair was quite weak in terms of American retailer turnout. Perhaps
only 50% of the U.S. Retailers showed up, maybe less.. A lot of American
retailers will place their orders during JCK Las Vegas show in June...and
everyone is hoping that there are some strong signs of life in the US
economy in the fourth quarter. Many brands offered fewer new products that
usual, but I actually prefer that. More focused. The economy might be weak,
but it was a very strong year in terms of new timepieces!

JF: What brand do you feel came out with product that made you wanna cream
your shorts?


LDC:Some of my favorites were:

Corum's Ti-Bridge. A totally new interpretation of Corum's classic watch.
Actually, it's a totally new caliber.

Bulgari's Sotirio Bulgari is a great piece. The lugs on the case, the
elegant Vaucher movement, the "V" motif that's shot throughout the dial,
case and caliber. Bulgari has entered a new era in men's watches.

The Vulcain Cricket was very cool as they offered quite a few variants of
alarm watches with different constructions, and hence sounds.

The Carl F. Bucherer EvoTec. The case may not be to everyone's liking, but
the CFB A1000 with it's peripheral rotor is a piece of history in the
making.

Blancpain's L-Evolution. Has a bold modern design.

Glashuette Original's Sixties is a modern interpretation of the
cushion-cased pieces from the early 1930s. GO also has a $20,000 sport
perpetual. What a value.

Speaking of value, Maurice Lacroix's new Squellette Chronograph retails
somewhere south of $25,000. This watch is uncommon, modern, large (44 or 45
mm) and relatively affordable. They also have some great $3,000
chronographs.

The same goes for Chronoswiss' new Dead Second's. Again, uncommon, modern,
large (44 or 45 mm) and relatively affordable.

Ebel's 1911 Tekton Real Madrid has the great case and a very cool
screwed-down sapphire crystal.

The Moser watches are ready to ship!

The Ulysse Nardin Moonstruck is a really cool concept. It expresses the
influence of the sun and the moon over the earth, and it also has a pretty
useful GMT function.

Chopard's Lunar Big Date in Red Gold. I love guilloched dial and the
balanced design. Classic, but fresh. Also, the Mille Miglia pieces offer a
lot of watch for the money.

The Concord C1 Quantum Gravity is an incredible piece of wrist-borne
sculpture.


The list goes on. 2009 is a great year for watches!

JF: Were you happy with the product that Rolex and Patek came out with?

LDC:Patek Philippe was great...they seemed to offer new interpretations of their
classics...with no Geneva Seal.. I didn't really care for the new 41 mm
Rolex.

JF: Could you feel the effects of the global financial crisis at Basel?
How so?

LDC:Absolutely. It was much easier to get down the halls. As a journalist it was
really easy to spend time with the various brand presidents.

But, actually, the mood at Basel felt more positive than the mood at the
SIHH in January. I think a lot of people felt that the US economy had hit
bottom in early March when the DOW closed at 6600. I certainly hope so.

JF: Do you think that retailer attendance was down?

LDC:Yes. Many retailers stayed at home. Those that did come, came with a smaller
entourage.

JF: Were there as many shitty brands exhibiting this year or do you feel
that a lot of them don't even exist at this point?

LDC: I mainly deal with the strong established brands and the more creative
boutique brands. I hope the latter will continue to survive as the world
needs its creative mavericks, Johnny. We might see a lot of acquisitions in
the near future.

JF: Has this affected magazine advertising in any way?

LDC:The advertising at all of the watch magazines is down a bit. It's even worse
at the big consumer magazines and the newspapers.

JF: Were there any new brands that popped up that surprised you in any way?

LDC:Nubeo. They have a watch called the Black Mamba that has an incredible case.
They also have a marketing tie-in with Kobe Bryant, so they're marketing
savvy.

JF: Have you seen turnover with watch rep veterans?

LDC:Unfortunately, yes...some of them are my friends. But overall, the brands
want to stay as stable as possible. Most of the layoffs have been at the
lower end of the food chain.

JF: Why do you feel that as far as I can see the watch companies held out
this year from coming out with at least one strong product?

LDC: I don't think this is the case...although I'm sure that many brands are,
indeed, holding on to some exciting products for next year.

JF: Did you have fun on this trip or did you feel that you would have had
a better time staying back home spanking it?

LDC:I had fun. Just because things are slow doesn't mean that they stop
completely. Most of the people in the watch industry are really great human
beings, even during tough economic times.

JF:Do you think in general that the watch brands are out of their fucking
minds for for having price increases when product is just sitting
there collecting dust and no one can afford to buy right now?

LDC:Price increases? I thought that many of the brands were more reasonable in
terms of pricing this year.

JF:Thanks for your time Long Dong Co-axial. The truth is you are one of the only journalists out
there reporting real shit that people care about. All the others out
there are cliff note versions for the challenged, and one day you should
do a profile on johnny Flyback if you have the balls?

Rock on and Flyback !

pic courtesy of www.baselworld.ch