Baselworld 2007 A Success According to Exhibitors

Overall, business at Baselworld seems to have been good. According to the show organizers, however, it has been extremely solid, with exhibitors reporting to them that it was the best show ever.

In Hall 3, the diamond pavilion, the assessment was a little more muted than that expressed by the organizers. "Business has been good," said Alain Shapira of New York-based A.S. Diamonds. "However, it has certainly not been as good as last year. Last year the buyers were a lot more serious," he observed.

Shapira said that pear shapes were moving well, as were oversizes. He also said that there was a demand for cushions. Looking out over the exhibition hall from his first floor vantage point on Monday afternoon though, Shapira said that he felt that trading activity had already peaked.

Avi Paz, of Avi Paz Diamonds concurred that the show had been largely successful. "It's been a good show," he said. "We have had a lot of customers. The only thing missing has been the U.S. buyers." In their place, he said, there was a strong Arab presence, including traders from Muscat, Oman, Bahrain and Syria. "The fact that they are coming is nothing new," Paz said. "What is new is the numbers that they are coming in. It shows the strong economies of those countries."

Paz gave a number of reasons to explain the absence of the U.S buyers from Switzerland this year. The slow down in the American economy, the timing of the show, which comes barely a month before JCK Las Vegas, and the expense involved in exhibiting in Europe.

In addition, said Paz, who arrived in Basel straight from the Shanghai show, the number of diamond shows means that diamantaires "don't really know where to go." The problem is, he said, that traders cannot choose to attend some shows one year but not the next. "If we do that, we lose the booth or lose our position in the hall. The main thing is to always be in the same place so that customers know where to find you."

Sylvie Ritter, Baselworld show director said that, even before the end of the show, exhibitors were reporting that it was "the best show ever." The reason for their enthusiasm, she said, is that business is excellent. "They have a lot of buyers and a lot of orders across the board. People are here and seem happy to order." Although Ritter would not say how many people had so far come through the gates (official numbers will only be released on Thursday) she said that attendance has increased.

In response to questions about the robberies that had hit the show, she said, "Every year and every show has problems," and suggested that the problem lies with the exhibitors rather than with the show organizers. "The security inside the halls is already at a high level. If there is something we can do to increase the security, we will do it," she said.