It was sheer visual delight. Rolex's grand sweeping staircase leading up to its classic creations, Swarovski's glittering stand, much like its crystals, Ulysses Nardin's large boat-shaped stall, anchor et al, and Breitling's eye-catching fish tank … for 1,892 brands converging and vying for attention at the world's most prominent watch and jewellery show, BaselWorld 2011, it was not just a battle of products and technologies, but of stunning displays and innovative stalls.

BaselWorld has always boasted the finest, glamorous stalls. For an event to be associated with luxury products such as watches and jewellery, the display has to be equally stunning, if not more so. While some brands repeat their stalls, others give it a twist or a new look depending on their most exclusive launches. Others change the perception of the regular stall by making it a replica of their boutiques or have glamorous, leggy models pose at the entrance to escort people in.

Lavish look

The Hall of Dreams, which housed the most prominent luxury watch and jewellery brands, was fantasyland all the way. The Swatch Group that had taken pride of place at the show had each of its brands grabbing eyeballs with larger-than-life stands. Fashion brand Hermes had a sprawling two-storey stall with rotating light sculptures. de Grisogono, on the other hand, had a backlit waterfall as a neat addition to its already splendid stall, and blending in with its image of a diving watch brand, TechnoMarine's stall had spectacular carvings of waves. Also, fashion label Police's stand had a strong visual impact that flaunted its street and rock concept with a shiny black store for the launch of its all-black watches. Its grunge look had fans streaming in.

Manishi Sanwal, General Manager, Indian Sub-Continent, LVMH Watch & Jewellery India, adds, “This year Zenith's booth at Basel had the stamp of its 2,333 chronometry awards. The entire booth, both outside and inside, was covered with various certificates of the numerous awards won by the brand. A simple idea that was well executed added to the attraction of the booth, while communicating the passion of the brand.”

Flowing with the theme

For Manuel Emch, CEO of dynamic watch brand Romain Jerome, it's exciting to show visitors its best collections in thematic displays. So, while its Moon Invader watch came out of a white and black ‘moon', its Titanic DNA Octopus had a scuba diving helmet on. He explains, “We do interesting displays such as winding to open the box, jump start an old car, or a rocket with steam … to keep up with the dynamism of the event.”

Japanese brand Seiko won the 2008 ADAM prize in Germany for its BaselWorld stall ‘The Cube' for “clever use of a complex space and its dramatic, mysterious and innovative presentation of the Seiko watch collection.” “This year, the exclusive touches were in the form of traditional lacquer objects in tune with our latest launch made with complete black lacquer,” adds Tetsuji Ishimaru, President of Seiko Watch India.

The BaselWorld booth for Dior was inspired by their new collection, Dior VIII. The collection is inspired by classic couture from the House of Dior, including the bar suit created in 1947, the Lady Dior bag in 1995 and the Dior fragrance  J'adore in 1999.

Getting tech-savvy

Rado had ultra-modern, freestanding glass display cases illuminated from below with changing colours, contrasted with swirling designs around the sides. The light play aside, the brand had a special exhibition on hi-tech ceramics that are intrinsic to the brand.

As one walked past the Hublot stall, the 3D holographic display of its Big Bang watch lured you to take a closer look. Housed in a glass case is its most exclusive watch and 3D images that recreate the smoke, fire and drama associated with the creation and development of the universe. While this was the highlight at the entrance of its stall, the brand also used space motion, small LCDs and interactive display windows.

Jean-Claude Biver, the CEO of the brand, in a press video says that thanks to such new technologies, the visitor “feels as if he has the watch in his hand.” And it sure did.

   

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