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Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
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Author:  martin998877 [ Sun May 29, 2011 10:27 am ]
Post subject:  Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
Hi folks

I've been thinking for a while that I'd like to go to the Basel watch fair (Baselworld) in March (8-15th) next year. After this year's surprising Bretling design announcements, next year will be interesting. Is it an good show with lots to see for the watch enthusiast? I enjoy browsing dealers' windows, so I think I'd enjoy the show! I imagine that for many of you on here, visiting it would be paradise and I guess many of you have been? Did you enjoy it as much as you expected? Are the watches just in display cabinets or is there opportunity to handle them?

Tickets are available online at 60 Swiss Francs for the day, (about £40 or $50) so they are easy to obtain and not ridiculously expensive, here http://www.baselworld.com/en-US.aspx


I guess hotels fill up too, does anyone know their availability, at the reasonably (lower) priced end during the show??

I live in the UK so it's quite easy to get to Basel and it sounds like something I'd enjoy.

Maybe we should chose a specific day and have a 'Breitlingsource meetup and dinner' together after the fair!

Any comments from people who have been would be appreciated.

Thanks
Author:  Roffensian [ Sun May 29, 2011 11:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
I would plan to stay outside of Basel and use public transit to get in - Swiss public transit is famously reliable and hotels in Basel fill up quickly and are priced accordingly.
Author:  tozzleozzle [ Sun May 29, 2011 11:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
Roffensian wrote:
I would plan to stay outside of Basel and use public transit to get in - Swiss public transit is famously reliable and hotels in Basel fill up quickly and are priced accordingly.


haha yeah, i was going to say! the price of entrey is the cheapist part of going there!
Author:  bucknutty [ Sun May 29, 2011 4:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
I was under the impression it was only open to dealers. Is this true? Or, can anyone get in?

How difficult is it to get by in Switzerland only speaking english?

For the guys that have been. Where did you change your money? Was there money changers at the airporte?
Author:  Roffensian [ Sun May 29, 2011 4:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
bucknutty wrote:
I was under the impression it was only open to dealers. Is this true? Or, can anyone get in?



It's open to the public - they had 100,000+ visitors this year.

bucknutty wrote:
For the guys that have been. Where did you change your money? Was there money changers at the airporte?


I'm guessing that you don't travel much. You can change money at all international airports, high street banks, hotels, many malls have bureau de change, etc. You can also buy currency before you leave home. Plus of course credit cards are universal.
Author:  sonyman [ Sun May 29, 2011 5:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
bucknutty wrote:
How difficult is it to get by in Switzerland only speaking english?


In almost every country English is extensively spoken,I have traveled to more countries than I care to remember and have never ever had a problem :lingsrock:
Author:  martin998877 [ Sun May 29, 2011 11:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
It's definately open to the public, Swiss people can always speak good english, Switzerland is easy to get around and to visit.

Oh, the fair... As a normal public visitor, is it enjoyable, do you get to see the displays and exhibits and feel part of the show? Or do you feel like most of it is the manufacturers' large stands that you can't actually get onto / into unless you're a dealer?

Eg, if you've been to a national car show, some of the stands showing popular cars allow you to look closely at them, get in them, etc. The prestige cars are behind roped off barriers and you can't even get close.

At Basel, can you get onto the breitling, omega, rolex stands for a close look? Or are you peering from behind a rope while just the dealers get onto the stand to see the new watches?

Mart
Author:  Bere4421 [ Mon May 30, 2011 7:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
Great show! I've stayed in Zurich, Freiburg, and Basel. Basel is the way to go if you can swing it... Get a few guys and split the cost of the room. Rather than stay in a hotel, look for an short term apartment rental. That's what I did this year and it was awesome.

The show is open to the public; however,you cannot get into many of the brands booths without being a dealer. Even if you are a dealer for certain brands, there are many booths you can't get into unless you are already an AD for that respective brand (Rolex, Breitling, Patek, Tag Heauer, Hublot, etc).

If you choose to stay outside of Basel Freiburg Germany is a nice train ride away, university town with some fun bars and good food. Zurich is a great city with amazing food, shopping, and sites, however it's not cheap... The train ride is about 1:00 to 1:20 from Basel to Zurich and the commute from the convention center to the train station is about 10 minutes. So if you stay in Zurich, you could theoretically spend three hours out of the day commuting. When I stayed in Basel this year it was 30 minutes a day. I will say the transportation system in Switzerland is amazing, and easy to navigate.

The show is a blast and Basel is beautiful... Soak it all up, see the show, sights, eat at some great places and experience the best watch show in the world!

Good luck!
Author:  F14D_Tomcat [ Tue May 31, 2011 11:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
tozzleozzle wrote:
Roffensian wrote:
I would plan to stay outside of Basel and use public transit to get in - Swiss public transit is famously reliable and hotels in Basel fill up quickly and are priced accordingly.


haha yeah, i was going to say! the price of entrey is the cheapist part of going there!


Unless your AD can provide you with an invitation :wink:
Author:  F14D_Tomcat [ Tue May 31, 2011 11:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
Bere4421 wrote:
I will say the transportation system in Switzerland is amazing, and easy to navigate.


But they cost you an arm and a leg. But it's OK if you use them just once. :wink:
Author:  Alien [ Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Basel watch fair 2012 - worth visiting?
If You are interested in watches, You should have seen it at least once. It is for sure worth the trip from the UK.
Try to find a hotel just across the border, that saves You a lot of money. Staying in Freiburg in Germany, You can take the ICE, that brings You there in about 45 minutes and costs about 18 Euros. The trainstation is only 5 minutes walk from the fair. You will not get the chance to visit the both itself (as You have to be a dealer or a journalist and need an appointment to do so), but most watch companies have presented most of their new models in outside displaycases as well.

BG
Thomas
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