BASELWORLD 2009 | an oriental atmosphere is felt

Basel Special The 39th Basel Jewellery and Watch Fair, held in the city known as the city of three nations because it lies on Swiss soil but borders Germany and France, concluded a couple of months ago; the important event involved more than 1,900 brands from 45 countries. There were as many as 6 pavilions available to the exhibiting companies, which showcased the best of global production and this year recorded a reversal in visitor numbers, with a full 100,000 industry professionals walking through the 160,000 square meters of the exhibition halls. Yes, because for a couple of years there had been a decline in attendance, due to the stagnation of the global market halted by the crisis. Many buyers came from Russia, Japan, America, but also India and especially China. Italians have always held a privileged position regarding the purchase of precious items; consider that we were in 5th place until a few years ago, now dropped several positions and overtaken by the ever-present and rising Chinese, who over the years have developed a sense of beauty and luxury equal to, if not greater than, ours. The fact remains that companies have included even more costly and lavish products in their precious collections precisely to satisfy the numerous requests coming from the new economy countries. This difference will become even more noticeable in the years to come and will not only be the domain of the precious world but, above all, in the integrity of the luxury product.     Watches on Display The first thing I must say is that this year the atmosphere inside and outside the Fair was filled with good optimism; perhaps because about 60% of visitors are from outside Europe, so they are experiencing a boom of expansion that we hope will return here. The streets outside the fair were full of people, the chatty cafés and the cars passing by were well-behaved, because although the fair is set up in the city centre, the pedestrian zone exists only to preserve the old town, thus creating a lively moment of gathering between fairgoers who busily move from one pavilion to another (the stands are inside historic or former office buildings emptied and within which entire exhibition pavilions have been built) and the residents, now accustomed to the events held regularly throughout the year. The most popular companies: Rolex, Hublot, Omega, Hamilton, Tag-Heuer and Zenith, Movado, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and BlancPain.     Damiani, an Outpouring of Silver The well-known jewellery house Damiani presented two important novelties at the Basel fair that enlivened the jewellery scene: for some time there had been a demand and a felt need for alternatives to gold jewellery with precious stones, to create a line, a jewel that would be recognisable as a Damiani must-have, a jewel that embodies the spirit of the company aimed at a discerning audience who loves luxury without exhausting their credit card. Here it is; the D.STONE line was born in silver, with precious carved onyx or using mother-of-pearl for rings, dangling pendants from bracelets and the neck pendant. The godmother of what will surely be a timeless winning line? Sharon Stone. Sharon Stone and Damiani have in fact collaborated for many years on humanitarian efforts. A percentage of the proceeds from sales will be donated to a non-governmental, non-profit humanitarian association that brings water to the most remote African villages. The other novelty concerns the Damianissimo D.SIDE watch, which paid tribute to its Italian origin by celebrating, with a special piece studded with green, white, and red precious stones, the 150 years of Italy’s unification.