Jewellery Rings

This year along with about 100,000 other folk I enjoyed a dazzling display of watches, gems and jewellery. The fair is one of the most prestigious of the jewellery calendar in particular showcasing the Swiss watch industry. The watch hall is truly stunning with million pound display ‘houses’, I can’t think of another word for them. The Rolex and Chopard houses have multi-floor edifices guarded by statuesque blondes who check your invitation to get in. If you haven’t got a pre-set appointment forget it. It really reflects the British world position that we do not have a dedicated country presence at Basel and that only 16 out of the over 2000 exhibitors were from the UK. Despite that everyone I spoke to from Britain, M.Vainer, Stephen Webster, Shaun Leane, Deakin & Francis and International Bullion Brokers (IBB) had a good fair. Barrie Dobson of IBB told me, “You can’t tell until after the show. The days of big orders are gone – if you get good contacts, then it’s been good. IBB are doing well with men’s jewellery, higher end jewellery and silver. And everything is brand orientated.”


Most companies I spoke to said the fair didn’t have the volume of buyers for them of previous years, despite the higher visitor numbers. Without good numbers and orders it can be hard to justify the great expense of exhibiting at Basel. I was shocked at the high number robberies at the fair with a large diamond goods theft even before the fair opened through to a courier company getting a signature from the wrong person, who disappeared, reping cases going missing and diamonds being swapped for cubics. I think most companies need to review their security arrangements. Claire Adler visited Basel too. “While Paris Hilton’s arrival and subsequent faux pas in Basel might have proved to be the most hilarious moment of the entire fair, we had to knuckle down and remember we were there to survey the jewellery.” she writes.