Virtual Basel: BaselWorld – Impressions of the Halls

by Robyn Hawk on March 13, 2012

Guest Post by Ed Estlow: Are you having fun yet?  Ed is back for day two at BaselWorld!!!  …well Virtual Basel!

OK watch fans! I’m back for Day 2 of this virtual adventurethrough the horological halls of BaselWorld. Yesterday I promised I’d take astep back and try to give you an overall idea of the show.
BaselWorld is spread across six “halls,” or buildings set afew blocks from the east bank of the Rhine River in Basel. The halls arenumbered 1 through 6, but they’re also named: the Hall of Dreams, the Hall ofVisions, the Hall of Elements, the Hall of Sensations, the Hall ofInspirations, the… well, you get the idea.
These buildings are HUGE. Some are bigger than others, butthey’re HUGE! And more interesting to me, they’re more or less permanentlydedicated to BaselWorld. I have to believe other things happen there during theyear, but this whole facility is purpose-built for watch and jewelryexhibitions.
I remember six years ago when I ventured into Hall 1 for thefirst time. This is the Hall of Dreams, the main hall where the BIG brands havetheir pavilions. There’s really no way to convey just how big these pavilionsare. At a regular trade show, a booth might be as big as 20’ by 30’ – andthat’s a big one.
At BaselWorld, the “booths,” or pavilions are perhaps 30’ or40’ square (some easily two or three times that), and are typically two or three– count ‘em, 3 – stories high! Inside of Hall 1!
Source:BASELWORLD
The first floor of most of these pavilions are generallyopen to the public. The second and third floors are offices and meeting rooms. Opento the public? Yes, BaselWorld is a public show. I was fascinated to see theoccasional family milling around the place, sometimes pushing the stroller ofan extremely young watch fan.
Here’s a short video to give you a sense of the place:

And here’s another video to give you a little better idea ofwhat you might be up against if you accidentally pull your camera out of yourpocket:

Now, somewhere in those videos you may have seen anescalator. Yep, several Halls have a second floor. Up there, some of theless-well-known brands and the up & comers have booths that are a littlemore sedate. Single-story, but still nice sized, and also fitted with privateareas for client meetings.
Halls 2 and 3 are given over to jewelry, and I confess, Ididn’t spend much time there (although my wife did). Halls 4 and 5 contain morewatches, including some high-end boutique brands. Hall 6 is where many of theAsian brands – both watches and jewelry – call home.
Evolving in recent years is the BaselWorld Village –temporary restaurants and bars set up in the courtyard amongst the six halls.When we were there in 2006, this consisted of a single semi-permanent structurethat housed a small café. You could get a sandwich and a beer or glass of wine,and you sat on the concrete side of the courtyard’s fountain pool while youate.
Now…  well…restaurants and bars.
OK! That’s a brief overview of the venue. Tomorrow I’ll befollowing blogs and tweets – the REAL VirtualBasel, and getting back toindividual timepieces that are jazzing folks (while dealing with a root canal,but that’s another story).
I’ll be trying to give you a sense of someone individuallywandering the “Halls.”
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Guest watch geek – er… blogger Ed Estlow resides in theNorthern Time Zone. A self-professed chrono-junkie, he writes compellingstory-filled copy for his clients from wherever he happens to be. Contact himat Ed@EdEstlow.com, on Facebook (look forNorthernTimeZone), or check him out at www.about.me/edestlow.

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