Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show is the world’s premier trade show of the international watch industry, named after the city in which it’s held annually: Basel, Switzerland. The Baselworld trade show is such a powerhouse in the timpiece industry that the trends, fashions, and tastes that crop up at the Swiss show tend to influence the watch trade for the rest of the year.
We’re going to be analyzing a few trends that showed up at Baselworld 2017, and offering you some watches that fit those trends, courtesy of our friends at Safa Jewelers and Rumanoff’s Fine Jewelry.
1. Vintage Inspiration
The rise of smart watches has been something of a ground shift to admirers of traditional watchmaking, which is a respected craft that’s been around since the 1800’s. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that there’s been a pushback against the bleeding edge technology represented by smart watches: the return to vintage designs and styles that consciously remind watch lovers of a more elegant time. Baume and Mercier is well-placed to take advantage of this gazing towards tradition — it’s not only a Genevan-based atelier, but the company’s also been in business since 1830. The Baume and Mercier Classima 10271, then, isnt’t some attempt to follow trends, but is a continuation of over a century of quality. Next time you’re looking to add some classic appeal to your wardrobe, try adding a vintage-inspired watch and see how it fits.
2. Minimalism
“Less is more”. That famous saying is at the heart of 2017’s turn towards minimalism. Watch lovers seem to have gotten slightly tired of overly elaborate complications. Uncluttered dials, simple materials, straightforward three-hand designs, and indices marked only by dots (or small jewels) represent a kind of purification of analog watches in the face of increasingly complex smart watches. This trend isn’t confined to men’s watches, though. The Michele Cape White Two-Tone, Topaz Dial design shows the same move towards minimalism as men’s watches. Along with the Michele Cape collection, other minimalistic Michele and Baume and Mercier designs can be found at the Hamden, CT jewelry store of Rumanoff’s Fine Jewelry.
3. Slim Watches
The trend towards slim watches is a counterpoint to the big watches of 2016, and goes hand-in-hand with the 2017 trend towards minimalism. Perhaps inspired by the clean lines and simplicity of smart watches, the slim watch is one that radiates understated beauty. The Hamilton Boulton Quartz H13431553 is, in our opinion, one of the cleanest and smartest timepieces from Safa Jewelers’ collection of Hamilton watches. Interestingly, the slim silhouette has traditionally been the domain of ladies’ watches, meaning that 2017 might be a year that presages more crossover in masculine and feminine styles. We’ll keep our eyes peeled to see what 2018’s trends look like.
We Want to Hear From You!
We couldn’t get to other Baselworld 2017 trends, such as the move towards visible mechanisms, the rise of smart watches, and the use of novel materials, like titanium and bronze. So, if you have any comments about the year’s latest trends in the watch industry, contact us on Facebook or Twitter today and let us know!