On the Road to Baselworld 2017 – Everything you need to know

21/03/2017 | By Monochrome | 3 min read |

Here it is… The big moment of the year for watch brands, watch journalists and watch collectors. Tomorrow, at precisely 12:00, Baselworld 2017 will open its doors to journalists, meaning that most of the new watches will be launched at this exact time. Today, we are on the road to Baselworld 2017: 5 journalists, over 100 meetings, many articles already scheduled for the entire week… Here’s everything you need to know.

Baselworld is the largest event around the world for watches, jewelry and precious stones. Over 1,500 exposing brands, around 11,000 journalists expected from all over the world, 140,000 visitors in total. Baselworld is huge, hectic, mesmerizing, exhausting. This year, team Monochrome-Watches will composed of 5 journalists (with their own instagram accounts): Frank Geelen (@fgeelen), our Editor-in-Chief, Brice Goulard (@bricegoulard), our Managing Editor, Xavier Markl (@xaviermarkl), our Director of Development and Technical Editor, Tom Mulraney (@thewatchlounge), our UK Editor and Robin Nooij (@robinnooij), our recurring contributor. Once again, the goal is to bring you the best possible coverage, with of course an instant view on major brands and their novelties (Rolex, Omega, Tudor, Patek Philippe…) but also a more personal take on the underground side of watchmaking, the independent watchmakers.

Talking about independent watchmakers, some changes are to note at Baselworld. While previously located outside the main halls, in the Palace, all the brands that we love (Armin Strom, MB&F, Arnold & Son, Manufacture Royale, Czapek, etc…) will now be located into the main building, in a dedicated area named Les Ateliers. Certainly different in terms of ambiance… Things change.

Ad – Scroll to continue with article

What to Expect

Rolex – As we told you in our predictions, there might be something with the Sea-Dweller coming. The watch celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Some expect a Coke GMT, some a new Explorer II. Still, there will be some good news coming.
Omega – The Speedmaster (but also the Raimaster and the Seamaster 300) will celebrate this year its 60th anniversary. As we showed you in our predictions, Omega might come with some heavy material for collectors.
Tudor – Nothing is official yet, but as every year, the brand will certainly surprise us with super-cool watches. See what we expect to see here.
Seiko – we heard about some very cool dive watches. We’ll know more on Thursday morning…
Patek Philippe – 20th anniversary of the Aquanaut and 85th anniversary of the Calatrava, so commemorative editions could well be seen.
TAG Heuer – the Autavia 2017 will be officially launched
More steel, more luxury sport watches, more nice movements in cheaper watches, more innovation, less prolific collections. The industry is refocusing.

How to be aware of all the novelties

Of course, we will publish multiple articles on Monochrome-Watches, starting as of tomorrow morning. Thus, come visit monochrome-watches.com on a regular basis. Then, you can also subscribe to our newsletter, so you we’ll be able to have a complete report every morning on what was published on our website – simply fill in the form on the right side of the website.