What Happened to Baselworld? The Rise and Fall of the World's Biggest Watch Show

For most of a century, if you made watches, you went to Basel. Every spring the Swiss city hosted Baselworld, the biggest watch and jewellery fair in the world, where brands launched their new models and retailers placed their orders for the year. Then, in 2020, it was gone. Here is what happened, what replaced it, and what it was like to stand in those halls as a young Australian watch brand.

What Baselworld was

The fair grew out of the Swiss Industries Fair held in Basel from 1917, and took the name Baselworld in 2003. At its peak it filled the vast Messe Basel halls with the biggest names in watchmaking, from Rolex and Patek Philippe to the Swatch Group's brands, alongside hundreds of smaller makers. For a week each year, the whole industry was in one place: press, retailers, distributors, suppliers and collectors.

How it fell apart

• Rising costs, falling patience. Through the 2010s, brands complained about the cost of stands and of the city during the fair, and about how the show was run. Exhibitor numbers fell year after year.
• 2018: the Swatch Group leaves. The largest Swiss watch group, owner of Omega, Longines, Tissot and many others, announced it would no longer exhibit.
• February 2020: the pandemic. The 2020 edition was postponed, then effectively cancelled.
• April 2020: the final blow. Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard announced they were leaving Baselworld to launch a new show in Geneva alongside Watches & Wonders, criticising decisions made without consulting exhibitors. LVMH brands including TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith followed.
• 2021: cancelled for good. The 2021 edition never took place, and exhibitors argued over refunds.

What replaced it

Today the industry's main spring event is Watches and Wonders Geneva, where Rolex, Patek Philippe and many of the big houses now launch their novelties. Around it, a new generation of shows has grown, many of them closer to collectors than to retail buyers: Geneva Watch Days, Windup Watch Fair in the US, and independent fairs across Europe such as Timefest in Bordeaux. For independent brands, these smaller shows are often a better fit than a giant hall ever was.

Our Baselworld: 2015

In 2015, Bausele exhibited at Baselworld. For a young Australian brand, standing in the same halls as the biggest names in Swiss watchmaking was a moment I won't forget.

We didn't come alone. We had made a watch for St Hugo, the Coonawarra wine estate, with Coonawarra soil sealed in the crown, and St Hugo's wine ambassador at the time joined us in Basel. Wine and watches have a lot in common: a deep tradition, a culture built over generations, and people with a real passion behind every bottle and every movement. Sharing that in Basel, with a piece of South Australian earth in the crown, said everything about what we were trying to do.

That idea, a real fragment of somewhere sealed in the crown, is still at the heart of every Bausele today. Read more about the fragment in the crown.

What the end of Baselworld means for you

• More direct brands. With no single fair controlling launches, many independent brands now sell directly online, often made to order, without the retail markup.
• Launches all year round. New watches no longer wait for a single week in spring.
• Closer contact. Smaller fairs let you meet the people who actually design the watches.

Frequently asked questions

Does Baselworld still exist?

No. After the 2020 edition was cancelled and the biggest exhibitors left, the 2021 edition was also cancelled and the fair as it was did not return.

Why did Rolex and Patek Philippe leave Baselworld?

In April 2020 they announced they were leaving to create a new show in Geneva alongside Watches & Wonders, citing a loss of trust and decisions taken by the organisers without consulting exhibitors.

What is the biggest watch fair today?

Watches and Wonders Geneva has become the main annual event for the major Swiss houses, held each spring.