A new year of the Baselworld show means new attractions and improvements. For show organizers, 2007 means unveiling renovations in Hall 1, the Hall of Dreams. For exhibitors, a new fair means showing new jewelry collections, which you’ll read about in future JCK publications and on its web site. But for others who attend Baselworld, it is an opportunity to one up booth neighbors and competitors—in the spirit of fun and friendly competition, of course.

For example, on Friday afternoon at the Swatch pavilion, supermodel Natalia Vodianova and Calvin Klein president Tom Murry, among others, will be present to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Calvin Klein Watch and Jewelry Co. On Saturday afternoon, Parlux Fragrances brings out everybody’s favorite tabloid star (no, not Britney Spears): Paris Hilton. She will launch a new timepiece collection and sign autographs. And while Rama Watch lacks big name attractions, it compensates by packing its booth with lots of little-knowns, such as the 16 candidates of the Miss Beaut?Swiss Romande 2007. These ladies will be at the firm’s booth on Saturday afternoon. Finally, Guess Watches holds its Ultimate Model Search Gala with a fashion show featuring 20 finalists from all over the world.

While every presentation is important, not all have high profile guests or glamorous reasons for celebration. A speech—“Why You Need a Watch Winder”—from Buben & Zoerweg aims to interest watch retailers. Meanwhile, Walter Hell-Höfliger from Jacques Lemans F1 Collection invites journalists to ask him questions about the line while “having a nice Austrian coffee.?Certainly, no one wants to miss the “Highly Personal?evening with Milus International, live demonstrations of “handskeletonizing?with Strom Chronos AG, or traditional Hawaiian hula dancers at the booth of Bathys Hawaii Watch Co.

JCK