Wrist Taker Magazine 2017 Issue

Another of the most important exhibitors in the history of Baselworld, Rolex, did not make their
first appearance at Baselworld until 1939. With some of the exciting innovative minds heading to
Baselworld every year, it became a can’t miss event for people in the wristwatch industry.
The watch fair continued to be held even after outbreak of the Second World War. Throughout
the war years, the media regularly praised it as the Muba “gem", reflecting the "strong will to hold
out". In 1972, under the new fair director, Frédéric Walthard, exhibitors from other European
countries were admitted too.
Yet another milestone came in 1973, when the watch fair was held as an independent specialised
fair in parallel to Muba under the name of "European Watch and Jewellery Fair (EUSM)".
Exhibitors attended from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Spain, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. "EUSM" grew rapidly and set a new record in 1975,
attracting more than 60 000 specialist buyers.
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Hall 2, Basel 1950s
The watch and jewelery exhibition at the Schweizer
Mustermesse, 1955
The Basel Messeplatz with Hall 2 in 1957
The fair had become such a huge event by the 1990’s there was talk of the event being moved
away from its traditional setting. Unsurprisingly there was a huge backlash against this idea.
Massive investment was poured into the existing settings so that it was able to hold the large
number of people who wanted to attend. This work was completed in 1999.
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