BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Baselworld, the annual watch and jewellery show has been caught under thick dark cloud cover for almost two years now and the forecast does not seem to be predicting any sunshine soon. After the departure of big key players such as Omega and Breitling, Japanese watchmaking giant Seiko and its luxury arm Grand Seiko has recently announced that they would not be participating in the upcoming Baselworld 2020 event.
For over three decades Seiko was a regular at Baselworld and showcased some of the best Horological products from the land of the rising sun, but sadly that would not be the case next year. When asked for a reason for its exit, senior officials at Seiko said that it was primarily the late timing of the show that made them take this decision.
When the management at Baselworld and SIHH came together last year and decided not to have a big gap between the two major events to promote their products better and for the sake of convenience of the press and general public, it led to a slight change in the schedule of the events. It was mutually agreed upon that 2020 onwards SIHH would take place towards the end of April followed by Basleworld which would its doors to people in May. And this happens to be a cause of concern for Seiko as the dates of Baselworld 2020 are falling in line with what they call in Japan the Golden Time, a four-day national holiday that is not particularly appreciated by Japanese watchmakers.
So, what are Seiko’s plans after they move out of Baselworld? Well, like many other brands who moved out of Baselworld, Seiko would also be showcasing their new releases all by themselves, but when and how, is something that we do not have much clarity on right now. The only bit of confirmed information from the brand as of now is that there would be a Grand Seiko summit that would be held in March 2020.
With another big banner lost, Baselworld’s future continues to hang by a thread and we just wish that everything gets back in place soon returning it to its heydays.
