It was that time of the year again, when jaw-dropping handcrafted, horological marvels were unveiled before a global audience. With 1,892 brands battling for eyeballs, BaselWorld 2011 went a step ahead and won the hearts of many a watch and jewellery lover.

The 39th edition of the world's largest and most popular annual watch and jewellery fair was a hit, just like its predecessors. While gliding through the magnificent venue and awe-inspiring stands is always a treat, being witness to the launch of the best luxury watches and jewellery the industry has to offer, is sheer indulgence. This year's extravaganza had its share of path breaking innovations and has been a trendsetter to new styles and fashion. Here are some highlights and trends:

Tech marvels

Concepts and technological innovations in watch making have always been the highlight of the fair. This year was no exception. Breguet launched its revolutionary new model The Classique 5717 Hora Mundi, the first mechanical watch with an instant time-zone display and a memory featuring synchronised date, day/night and city indications. Mechanical precision took a giant leap with Tag Heuer launching its Mikrotimer Flying 1000 Concept Chronograph, the world's first mechanical chronograph to measure and display 1/1,000{+t}{+h} of a second – 125 times more accurate than most existing mechanical chronographs!

Material magic

This year saw some interesting materials being used in watches. While ceramic found the pride of place in many collections, lacquer and carbon too made their presence felt. Rado added a feather to its cap by launching the world's thinnest high-tech ceramic watch, Rado True Thinline. Seiko's Ananta Automatic Chronograph Diver's watch is a celebration of Japan's artistry. The dial is made of the country's traditional style lacquer by a world-renowned lacquer artist to make it ‘truly jet black'.

Hublot's Big Bang All Black Carbon was completely in sync with its trademark concept of ‘invisible visibility', being made entirely from carbon fibre. The dial was eye-catching in its matte black carbon fibre with black nickel appliqué indexes. Romain Jerome on the other hand not only experimented with carbon fibre in its Basel creations but also went a step ahead to hand-sculpt the black dial of its Moon Dust DNA watch with a small amount of the ‘precious Moon dust'- of which only a few thousand grams have been brought back to Earth.

Black's the way

The rich stark hue unanimously won the round for the most favourite colour among watch brands. The show saw a whole lot of launches in black, whether in the form of ceramic, lacquer, diamonds, crystals or carbon. From Hublot's Big Bang Black Caviar that shone in polished black ceramic to Chopard's Classic Racing model with black perforated rubber straps, black was a sure shot hit. In fact de Grisogono had a line called Black Forever which was unveiled at the show. The collection made of black diamonds and paired with colour coded straps stood out in the bling selection. Dior too did a black number with its Dior VIII 33mm automatic with black high-tech ceramic and stainless steel case, black ceramic pyramids on the bezel and black lacquer hand on the dial.

Romance is back

If one were to point out one trend that ran across the different jewellery collections that sparkled through Basel this year, it has to be the underlying romance in design. Pink flowers, fluttering butterflies, subtle pastels, elegant designs… each jewel was like a saga of love. Whether it was Russian brand Faberge's bright precious stones in large settings, Chopard's nature-inspired motifs in the form of exquisite jewels, Mikimoto's luscious pearls in ethereal patterns or Wellendorff's simplistic designs, romance is the colour of the season.

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