Some announcements make noise. And then there are others that make an impression. The one from this morning belongs to the second category. Today, June 18, 2026, on the sidelines of Art Basel, two major players in the global events industry have made official what the sector had been waiting for, hoping for, and sometimes no longer dared to believe: the return of a major jewellery and watch fair to Basel, eight years after the disappearance of Baselworld. It is called Basilia Jewellery & Watch Fair, and its first edition is planned for April 2027.
Behind this project, an unprecedented alliance: Informa Markets, operator of the world’s leading B2B network dedicated to jewellery, notably known for Jewellery & Gem WORLD Hong Kong, and MCH Group, whose experience spans more than a century and which gave the world Art Basel. Two different DNAs, one shared conviction: the industry needs a new intercontinental meeting point, designed for what it is today, and not for what it was twenty years ago.
Basel, Not Out of Nostalgia, But Out of Logic
Choosing Basel is not a sentimental gesture. It is a strategic choice. Three countries meet here, Switzerland, Germany and France, and trade has flowed through this point for two thousand years. The city is compact, connected, easy to navigate, at once global in its culture and intimate in its scale. For a fair that aims to reconcile Asian supply and European demand, it would be difficult to find better ground.
The calendar, too, has been thought through with precision: the professional days of Basilia are expected to begin where those of Watches & Wonders Geneva end, effectively turning April into a true Swiss circuit for buyers, tastemakers and media from the sector. Those who were already crossing the Atlantic or the Pacific for Geneva will only need to take a train.
A Fair Conceived as a City
What captures the attention in Basilia’s concept is its refusal of the standardised format. Rather than a uniform presentation model, Basilia is structured like a city, with its neighbourhoods, its districts, its valleys and its squares: Jewellery Neighbourhoods, Diamond & Gem Districts, Watch Valleys, Swiss District, Tech Hub, and spaces inspired by Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jaipur, Istanbul, Antwerp, Paris or Milan.
The idea is that of a city under construction, starting from the centre and radiating out into neighbourhoods where discoveries unfold as you wander. Each space will reflect the cultural and industrial identity of the territory it represents. It is an editorial proposition as much as a commercial one, and that is precisely what sets it apart.
50% Jewellery: A Strong Signal
The numbers speak for themselves. Jewellery will represent 50% of the exhibitor offering, gemstones 25%, and watches 25%. This is not a programme detail, it is a statement of intent. Since the end of Baselworld, the watch world has managed to reorganise itself around Watches & Wonders. Jewellery, for its part, was still searching for its great European gathering. Basilia responds to that directly.
More than 400 exhibitors are expected from the very first edition, in Hall 2 of Messe Basel, with a clear pricing promise: accessibility. A signal directed at independent creators, mid-sized manufacturers and emerging players from Asian and European markets, too often excluded from major trade shows by prohibitive participation costs.
Neither the Nostalgia of Baselworld, Nor Its Ghost
The question came up immediately at the press conference: why would Basilia succeed where Baselworld had failed? Roman Imgrüth, CEO Exhibitions & Events of MCH Group, was direct: “Baselworld is no more.” And he went on to insist that great exhibitions are not built in a single edition, but over time, through trust, and by listening to those who bring them to life. “In 2027, we are planting a seed. We will build from there.” That may be the most honest sentence of the day. And the most convincing.
Basilia is not trying to resurrect an outdated model. It is trying to invent a new one, more horizontal, more inclusive, more grounded in the realities of an industry that has changed profoundly: in its supply chains, in its buyers, in its distribution channels, and in the values it carries.
See You in April 2027
For professionals in the jewellery and watch industries, the question is no longer whether Basel deserves a second chance. It is whether we will be there to write this new chapter alongside it. See you at Hall 2, Messe Basel, April 2027.
