MCH rebrands Baselworld as Houruniverse. Baselworld was the longest-running watch and jewellery show in the world until the rebranding was announced in a statement earlier today. The Baselworld which has been around for more than a century had suffered some setbacks in the past.
After a group of significant brands left the Baselworld watch trade show in Switzerland (lead by Rolex in conjunction with Patek Philippe, the two most influential watch brands in the world), the MCH cancelled the event for 2021. It was the first time its organisers had ever called it off.
The 2020 show, originally planned for April 30 to May 5, was postponed due to Covid-19, with a substitute show scheduled for January 8 to February 2, 2021. With the development, many industry insiders speculated that Baselworld might already be in more serious trouble. A number of frustrated watch brands, including Grand Seiko, Breitling and the entire Swatch Group, had already left the show in pursuit of hosting their own big reveals outside of the old trade show format.
It may be a step in the right direction when MCH announced on Thursday that it is creating a new concept for a global platform for the watch, jewellery and gemstone industries named Houruniverse.
The new show will be live and virtual, active all year round, benefiting from the latest technologies for content, and for networking, the new platform is dedicated to players in the watch, jewellery and gemstone industries, but not exclusively.
“The new concept is a B2B2C meeting point that places the customer at the heart of its focus, reversing the order of the past. The entire platform is thought out and designed around the customer. This applies to all players of the distribution chain, traditional and online retailers, including those of the CPO (certified Pre-Owned),” states the statement.
In addition, the platform will build a comprehensive ecosystem with the watch, jewellery and gemstone brands, developers of new solutions in distribution, marketing and points of sale, and other players of the industry. A global, varied, interconnected, unified world. The platform will be digitally active throughout the year and will host an annual live show.
“A community platform that creates bridges between buyers and sellers and all the players in the industry, it is also a place that encourages exchanges, information-sharing, content creation, reflection through talks and conferences that also provide visibility for brands and their products.
In April 2021, the community will meet at Houruniverse in Basel, Switzerland. The show will be aligned with the watchmaking events in Geneva, in the best interests of the international community which will only have to travel to Switzerland once a year.
The detailed concept of Houruniverse will be unveiled late August in combination with the start of marketing,” MCH said in the statement.