Horological Meandering

Marcus Hanke
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My personal Baselworld tasting notes - 2013 edition

In 2006, I started writing my Basel tasting notes, but did not do so in 2011, and also in 2012, when I was ill and did not attend the Baselworld for the first time since more than ten years. This year, I want to renew this tradition, but for a change, I am posting my tasting notes as a starter, before the various brand reports. I think this helps to understand the attitude of my reports to follow.

Without doubt, 2013 will be remembered as a good year for Baselworld. No, it will be remembered as a great year. The time between last year’s fair and the 41^st edition this April was well used for the complete rebuilding and enlargement of the fairground not far from the town’s center. Basel oldtimers are used to the problems having to adapt to the ever-changing face of the city, since the area around the fair center is subject to permanent construction activity, driving not only street navigation systems into madness. But this enlargement of the Baselworld fair ground was more: Instead of filling the increased area with more exhibitors, the management reduced their number and offered larger spaces for the booths to those that were admitted.

Of course, this move was accompanied by a drastic increase of the cost per booth for the exhibitors. More than 122,000 visitors came to the fair, more than 3,000 journalists reported and an unknown amount of money was listed in the brands’ order books. We can be assured that the Baselworld again honoured its reputation as the most valuable luxury goods trade fair in the world.

“New era - new records”, as the final press release from the Baselworld jubilantly announced, and I congratulate - and would greatly be happy for them, if there wasn’t a tiny detail that I dislike more than a little bit about this year’s fair: the watch prices have been raised - again.

If we look at the past decade of the Bordeaux red wines, we see an extremely good period, with not one, but many excellent vintages, at least three of them being even called “century vintages” - within a single decade. The result: the prices of many bottles from most well-known chateaux have become more expensive already in subscription than they used to be for well-aged wines of best consumption age.

With the exception of the so-called “crisis” in 2007/08, that was rather a mere economical hiccup than a real crisis, the watch industry has been through a decade of constant growth, that is marked by - who wonders - an equally steep price increase.

Of course I am fully aware that a true connoisseur, or a Purist, has a perception of “value” that is independent from an artificially created definition in Mammon’s realm, vulgo price. But it is so much easier to appreciate this “value” when you are not living under a bridge, having sold your house for a luxury watch. I mean, is there any celestial rule dictating that an industrially produced watch, with a movement bare of any hand-applied finish, and a standard complication, like a chronograph or a second timezone, has to cost an average white-collar-worker’s net income of six or seven months? In stainless steel, or course. I think not, and there is absolutely no reasonable explanation for such a price level, other than that the prices demanded are paid. And, I fear having to admit, this is a rather convincing argument.

Apparently, the number of “connoisseurs” has globally increased so much that its demand for watches supports the ever-growing production output of the luxury watch industry. And you do not have to read all works by Adam Smith to understand that this demand is driving up the prices.

However, there is also no basic law forcing us to buy all those products. A “connoisseur” is somebody “connaissant”, someone who “knows”. Which includes knowing that high value and quality are not necessarily bound to the respectively newest product of a certain manufacturer; or to the products of a certain manufacturer at all. Quality and value can be found in all places, the game is dodging the constraining influences of the masses and finding the not so apparent gems. A true connoisseur will never let a marketing department define his impression of “value” and “quality”.

There is a world beyond Chateau Lafitte, beyond those Bordeaux proud of their 1855 classifications. Many, many Crus Bourgeois are absolutely excellent, very near, if not on par with the top wines. And if you want to find a magnificent value at even lower market prices, try the wonderful wines of the Pays d’Oc, or of South Africa, Southern America, Australia, New Zealand ...

Fortunately for us, a similar rescue is available in the world of watches: I was deeply impressed by the high level of quality and unique design offered by brands like Certina, Tissot, Rado, Citizen, Seiko, and so on. When you see an automatic steel chronograph in an excellent steel case, with a flawlessly finished, shining brown metal dial, and a reliable, yet mass-produced ETA movement, that is to be released this autumn at a price for about 1,000 Swiss francs, then you will accept the assertions of some “big” brands, that their watches are so expensive because of the high prices demanded by their case/dial/hands/crystal suppliers for this quality, with a huge grain of salt.

So what is under the line of my impressions from this year’s Basel fair? We as enthusiasts, connoisseurs or PuristS have to cease being mere puppets of the “big” brands’ marketing departments, trying to explain why their products have to be so expensive. Let’s make our own evaluations of quality and value, and let us draw our own conclusions. Finally, we should not hesitate to turn our backs on products and manufacturers that in our opinion have lost the adequateness of price and “value” out of their eyes. I am convinced, that sooner or later they will crawl back, begging for our attention.

Until then, I will enjoy good watches and great wines with less prestigious names printed on them, but with the awareness of having something good.

A propos “good”, I found something really good at the fair: the association of Swiss exhibitors at the fair had prepared a “survival kit for Baselworld journalists”, containing everything one needs to get through this madness named “watch and jewellery fair”:

* organic cereal bar against the worst hunger

* cough drops against a sore throat from too much talking

* hand disinfect lotion, you have to shake many, many, many hands ...

* watch polishing cloth - never leave home without one ...

* tissues, and - last but not least:

* sticking-plaster for blisters on the feet.

Dear Swiss exhibitors: thank you for caring!

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