An exuberant note from the organisers of Baselworld 2011 reported that World Watch and Jewellery Show closed its doors this year with an all-time high performance on most fronts – a total of 10,3200 visitors (up 2.5% over 2010) from 100 countries and “outstanding“ sales. There were 1892 exhibitors from 45 countries exhibiting this year. Not to be left behind, media presence was also at its strongest at 3055 media representatives (+ 5% over last year) from all different continents, no doubt helping to spread the word of cheer across the world.

The show, held from March 24 to March 31, opened to a moderate start, but soon picked up pace. While the traditionally active Halls 1, 2 & 3 which house the watch and jewellery companies and brands saw high activity, there were reports that Hall 6, the international exhibitor section, sometimes saw low traffic.

On the whole, however, exhibitors at the show reportedly expressed high satisfaction at the excellent quality of visitors and the business and real sales conducted.

Speaking at the Press Day, Jacques J. Duchêne, President of the Exhibitors’ Committee said that despite the political upheavals in Africa and the Middle-East in the past few months, “the watch and jewellery industry can look back on a truly remarkable year, and the indicators continue to remain excellent” and that “The way out of the tunnel materialised faster and more energetically than the market observers had been forecasting for us. But let us avoid the pitfall of being too certain of victory, even if at the moment we are able to observe our business activities developing extraordinarily well.”