The end of Baselworld is like coming down off a really brutal high. The intense energy of the show is only matched by how busy you are. Nights are filled with long European style dinners that take forever, but go by quickly as the conversation is engaging. Watch lovers can be themselves - this is our week. And even though the show is that long, you can only manage to see a fraction of the exhibiting brands. New things come at you around each corner, and items you’ve only seen as computer renderings come to life. The best part is by far the people; the gossip, the laughs, and thankfully this year — the optimism.
“More orders than last year” seems to be a sober but enthusiastic claim made across the board. Few brands leave without smiles on their faces, while the major brands are all celebrating due to increased sales in key markets. If retailers are buying replica Audemars Piguet then it means they have a pretty good reason to think they can sell them. It will still take a year or two before many US retailers return to Switzerland, and I am not sure the industry was able to anticipate the good times. Hopefully they last.

What Baselworld 2011 didn’t have was a lot of novelty. At first I wanted to write about how I was disappointed by the lack of new offerings, but perhaps I got spoiled after we had year after year of brands designing like mad. This year many brands focused on mere “line extensions,” or rather new versions of existing replica tag heuer. Others had just single new watch to show, and no one wanted to admit their 2011 offerings were modest (I need new interrogation tactics). That wasn’t the case with everyone though. Strong brands like replica hublot, Blancpain, Glashutte Original, Omega, Tissot, Jacob & Co., Corum, Patek Philippe, and Zenith all had substantial new things to show.

As new watches take a few years to develop, it is possible that what we are seeing is a side-effect of a few years of economic woes. I have a feeling things will pick up again in the next few years if good sales at least remain consistent. What trends did I see? Unlike the strong adherence to sober designs that I wrote about in my SIHH 2011 overview, Baselworld was certainly more edgy. While retro and classic designs are still in, they certainly aren’t the cornerstone of what 2011 is about. Retro-revivals seem to be mostly well thought-out save for a few pieces which will appeal to mostly collectors.

Color was a big thing, as brands look for innovative ways of getting people’s attention. I saw a lot of bold tones in watches both inexpensive and very high-end. There isn’t really a focus on any one color, but all colors seemed to be of interest to brands. I will however say that I saw a lot of blue colors - which is a bit unusual.

Aside from a few key brands that really love to dazzle with complications, watches that wow with engineering prowess were lacking. Not a lot of new movements, but those fresh movements you did see, felt impressive. All in all 2011, felt like one big build-up to 2012 - and what that means will take a year to find out.

Without further delay, here is my list of the top 11 watches for 2011, followed by noteworthy honorable mentions. These aren't in a particular order, just the best 11 overall.