Current Obsessions WATCH WATCHING THE NORMALZEIT

Normalzeit is a German word which describes the legal time normally in force in a country or part thereof, unless a time that differs from it (e.g. daylight saving time) is temporarily in use on the basis of a special regulation.

Fredi Brodmann designed the famous Normalzeit wrist watch, which was manufactured by Lichterloh in Vienna. It is modeled after the Vienna Normalzeit Cube Clock. This design can be traced back to early twentieth-century Vienna, when the first cube-shaped clocks debuted in prominent public areas.

The watch was created in a limited and numbered edition of 1907. It has a solid stainless steel case that measures 40 x 40 x 10.5mm. It features a great movement that is automatic (SEIKO NH35A). When fully wound, it has a power reserve of 41 hours.

The Normalzeit also has a fluorescent watch dial and an anti-allergenic silicone watch strap with a stainless steel buckle. It has a 2-year warranty and is water-resistant to 50m/165ft.

After the covid lockdowns and everything that has happened in the world since the last edition of Baselworld, the last edition of the Swiss fair now seems to have taken place so long ago.

The story of what happened to Baselworld is an interesting and very long one and, sadly, we may never know the actual truth. Surely, the media wrote about it extensively, but who really knows what goes on behind closed doors? Especially in Switzerland.

The 2019 was the last actual edition of the show. The show had a history of over a century, during which it continuously reinvented itself. In 2013, Sylvie Ritter, the Managing Director of BW inaugurated the new building in which the show took place. At the time, she claimed in an interview that “If you are anybody in this industry, you have to visit Baselworld.” In 2018, as the show’s numbers fell, she quit her job (she had been with the MCH Group for 26 years and worked for 15 years as BW Managing Director) and the job of leading Baselworld was taken up by Michel Loris-Melikoff.

Loris-Melikoff wanted to reinvent Baselworld and started out his work with the 2019 edition, which, according to the media, had not been a great success. The media had sort of turned against BW because the show was lacking in the way it was treating the media overall. The 2020 edition did not take place because the covid crisis was in full swing, and traveling was restricted or simply too hard. Also, with all the distancing requests that were going on, it would have been hard to do a show like Baselworld. Then, in the summer of 2020, the organizers announced that the fair would be completely rebranded. It got a new website and everything and even a new name: HOURUNIVERSE. Now, the name was highly criticized, but some people went with it and encouraged the new format.

HOURUNIVERSE also had a new slogan, which was “It’s We Time”, which did not land extremely well with the watch community. Overall, while a “reset” (buzzword of the moment) seemed necessary for the Basel watch and jewelry fair, it seemed that Baselworld’s reset was hasty and done just for the sake of it.

Scandals also appeared, as the 2020 edition was not considered “canceled” but rather “postponed”, which implied that the parent company MCH Group intended to hold brands to the terms of their contracts, effectively warning them that they would forfeit their deposits in full if they did not rebook into the 2021 show and that if they moved to January of the following year, they would even be charged a 15 percent administration fee on the total cost of their bookings. This got many people mad and prompted Hubert du Plessix, a senior director of Rolex and president of the Committee of Swiss Exhibitors at Baselworld, to write a highly-circulated paper on behalf of the committee accusing the MCH Group of “rigorous reading of contractual provisions to justify its position.”

The MCH Group announced a refund policy on April 3 that offered exhibitors two choices. In the first choice, they could use

85% of the money they spent on Baselworld 2020 for the upcoming trade show. The remaining 15% would be forfeited to the show in order to “partially offset [show] out-of-pocket costs already accrued,” and the exhibitors would likely be required to pay this amount once more. In the second scenario, exhibitors would receive a refund of 30% of their cash outlay, with 40% carried over to the following year’s show and the remaining 30% used to cover their out-of-pocket expenses for the event. After feeling that they had been badly treated, Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard and Tudor announced that they would leave Baselworld. Then, it was announced that a new watch trade show would be organized in Geneva in collaboration with Fondation de la Haute Horologie. In April 2020, it was announced that the event would take place at Palexpo in early April 2021 in conjunction with Watches & Wonders. It was considered that the Baselworld management made a number of decisions unilaterally and without consulting anyone, including delaying the watch show until January 2021 and failing to meet the needs and expectations of the brands, which led to this departure. The new show was meant to aim to provide partner brands with the best professional platform possible so they can successfully address upcoming challenges in the watchmaking sector.

At the time, Jean-Frédéric Dufour, Chief Executive Officer of Rolex SA, and Board Member of Tudor, said: “We have taken part in Baselworld since 1939. Unfortunately, given the way the event has evolved and the recent decisions made by MCH Group, and in spite of the great attachment we had to this watch show, we have decided to withdraw. Following discussions initiated by Rolex, it seemed only natural to create a new event with partners that share our vision and our endless, unwavering support for the Swiss watchmaking sector. This will allow us to present our new watches in line with our needs and expectations, to join forces and better defend the interests of the industry.” On a similar note, Thierry Stern, President of Patek Philippe, said: “The decision to leave Baselworld was not an easy one to take for me, being the fourth generation of the Stern family to participate to this traditional yearly event. But life evolves constantly, things change and people change as well, whether it is at the level of those responsible for the watch fair organization, the brands or the clients. We constantly have to adapt ourselves, question what we do, since what was right yesterday may not necessarily be valid today! Today Patek Philippe is not in line with Baselworld’s vision anymore, there have been too many discussions and unsolved problems, trust is no longer present. We need to answer the legitimate needs of our retailers, the clients and the press from around the world. They have to be able to discover the new models from Swiss watchmakers each year, at one time, in one place, and this in the most professional manner possible. That is why, following several discussions with Rolex and in agreement with other participating brands, we have decided to create, all together, a unique event in Geneva, representative of our savoir-faire.”

Following the same thought, Frédéric Grangier, CEO of Chanel Watches & Fine Jewellery added: “Like its partners, Chanel shares the same independence and the same desire to protect and promote the values, know-how, utmost quality and precision of Swiss Watchmaking. This initiative marks a key milestone in the history of Chanel Watchmaking and is part of a long-term strategy, which began with the launch of this activity in 1987. This exhibition will allow us to present all of our new creations in an environment that meets our high-quality standards.”

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard et Cie SA, also spoke about this, saying: “Chopard first exhibited at the Basel fair in 1964 with a stand of some 25 square meters. After careful consideration, our family decided to support the Rolex initiative and retire from Baselworld – a painful decision. The creation of this new watch show in Geneva, in parallel to Watches & Wonders, will allow us to better serve our watchmaking partners and our customers. Through the alliance, these grandes maisons will also be able to collaborate in promoting the values and best interests of Swiss watchmaking.”

Jérôme Lambert, on behalf of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie Council explained: “The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie is delighted to welcome a new salon which will strengthen the historical Watch & Wonders event in Geneva next year in early April.”

Then, TAG Heuer, Bulgari, Hublot and Zenith decided that, since Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard turned their back on the show, they would leave as well. “We are sorry to have to leave this over 100-year-old Baselworld event to which our Maisons have been consistently loyal,” said Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of the LVMH Watchmaking Division.

Bulgari announced that it would be part of the new group of exhibitions taking place in Geneva in early April next year, but TAG Heuer, Zenith and Hublot had not yet reached a final decision plan.

LVMH Watchmaking Division’s decision basically left Hall 1.0 of Baselworld empty.

“It is with great surprise and equally great regret that the MCH Group takes note of the cancellation of major exhibitors at Baselworld,” the company says.

Did this mean that Baselworld was completely over? In the eyes of some, so it seemed, but many others still had some hope for it. Ultimately, the Swiss town had had a fair since 1917, when the Swiss Fair Basel was first established. Since then, the show had taken many forms, so why not make something brand new one again?

Despite all the Sturm und Drang that was going on, in the end it was announced the Baselworld would return in 2021, but this time under its former name, Baselworld, instead of HOURUNIVERSE (to be clear, there was no fair held under the name HOURUNIVERSE). However, because of the seemingly never-ending covid-19 crisis and the continuous terrorfest imposed by politicians and because of the strange relation the MCH Group still had with the watchmaking world and the watch lovers from all around the world, this renewed edition of Baselworld was also canceled. Canceled, postponed, who knows anymore? The bottom line is it did not take place and the Basel Messe (an investment that cost CHF 430 million about a decade ago) saw no watch show once more.

The year 2021 was marked by a bunch of watch and jewelry events that happened half in person, half online. Even though much of the online content was well-done, it was still not something that could compete by any means with a real watch fair. A pop-up event was held in Geneva, and BW announced that a year-round B2B digital platform would be implemented. Talks about a new show and changed ownership appeared here and there in the media. For example, some German-language news outlets from Switzerland talked about the MCH Group having already registered the new name Swiss Watch Week. However, according to them, the group denied a move to Lausanne, which was rumored. Another news item that went around was about Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, owner of The New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Fox News, being in discussions to buy up to 30% of MCH Group for around CHF 100 million. This appeared in report in Swiss business newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.

The first clear news that came out about Baselworld made the attireclub.org | round of the watchmaking press in November 2021, when it was announced that Michel Loris-Melikoff departed from his job as Baselworld announced that it would also cancel the 2022 show.

On this occasion, Beat Zwahlen, CEO of the MCH Group, made the following statement: “In the last few months we have dealt intensively with our watch, jewelry and precious stones ecosystem and gained important insights from discussions with important industry representatives. The market for this kind of platform that brings medium-sized and specialized manufacturers together with independent retailers is there, but it also needs need to be analyzed more closely. We have to take a lot more time to do this.”

The MCH Group also issued a statement which read: “In a short time, Mr Loris-Melikoff managed to gain access to the industry and gain its respect. He initiated and helped shape the necessary transformation and repositioning of Baselworld.

The MCH Group regrets his decision and thanks him for his tireless efforts, wishing him all the best in his future engagements.” So, in other words, the departure of Loris-Melikoff was a calm one without any scandals (for once), and the organizers would focus on the medium-priced watches for the next shows… since all the bigs had left. But, who knows, maybe the big brands will return to Basel.

Baselworld has almost disappeared since then. They made an Instagram post in November 2021 explaining that the show would not return in 2022 and that they needed to refocus. People commented that the show had plummeted under the greed of the organizers and of the Swiss hotels and restaurants, which were known to amp up their prices to the max during the show – this was an entire topic that was also massively discussed as Baselworld went through its cancellations.

Their new profile description read, “A new multiform, hybrid meeting point that combines virtual and physical events to be experienced and consumed all year round.” However, the online platform has not yet come into being.

In the summer of 2022, the website features only some graphics and a text saying, “Baselworld organizers have decided to take more time for the launch of the new concept. Baselworld, scheduled for spring 2022, will therefore not take place.

This decision is based on the one hand on the experience gained from the Pop Up Event at the Geneva Watch Days and on intensive discussions with manufacturers and retailers. On the other hand, it takes into account the fact that it is particularly difficult to launch a new concept for a new target segment due to the renewed aggravation of the COVID situation and the associated uncertainty among customers. An interdisciplinary team from the MCH Group will analyze the target segments and, in close exchange with manufacturers and retailers, make a deep dive into their marketing and transaction needs.We hope to come back to you soon with new and positive news about the future of Baselworld.” No news on YouTube, television or radio.

Meanwhile, Watches & Wonders announced its 2023 dates. The event will take place in Geneva from March 27 to April 2, 2023 – even though these are “provisional dates” according to the organizers. There will also be two events in China.

Time will tell (the puns about watches and time telling are always great when speaking about an event like Baselworld) what will happen to Baselworld. Most likely, the event will bounce back, but the question is when and whether it will really succeed as it did before. Talking to people in the watch industry, it is very clear that there is interest in an event like Baselworld: an open platform for meet-ups and for connecting with friends and with new people. Watchmakers from far and wide would love to come to Basel to showcase their creations, connect with buyers and media people and to get their watches out there. In the end, this is what the industry is all about. There is an interest in Baselworld, but most likely, the event will bounce back only when its economics of it make sense. Hopefully, it will bounce back with a social component as well – in the end, it is all about watches and the passion for them, which should be the primary thing to drive a re-boost of the show.