It's our goal at Europastar this year to provide you with news and impressions straight from the show. This year, we have three writers covering the show — editor-in-chief Pierre Maillard, managing editor Malcolm Lakin and me, Keith W. Strandberg, the newest regular writer for the magazine. You might know me from the “Letters from America” and other features I've done in the past and you will see me regularly in the magazine from this point forward, as well as on the website.

Wednesday at BaselWorld was press day, with some of the stands open and ready for dealing with the press, while the majority of the stands were still working on set up and preparation for the official opening of the show, today, Thursday March 30.

Press day is a perfect day to walk around, get the lay of the land, see what booths are new or in an unfamiliar location, and it's a time for a few one-on-one press meetings with brands and press conferences. I saw some interesting new watches, from Patek Philippe's 5960p, which features the company's new (and first) automatic chronograph movement inside, as well as the limited edition watch with the new Spiromax Spring and the silicone balance wheel that was introduced last year. Chopard talked about the company's presence in the new “Basic Instinct 2” movie, as well as the new Mille Miglia watch and the newest Happy Diamonds collection. At Chanel, I saw the new J12 High Jewelry, which takes 1400 man hours to hand set and costs $402,000. Fossil introduced two new licensed lines, Adidas and Marc by Marc Jacobs. The Adidas watches were sporty and very good looking. In addition, Fossil now has a mechanical watch in its collection, retailing for US $95! At Maurice Lacroix, I attended a press conference announcing their new chronograph manufacture movement.

Press day was a busy day, but it was just the calm before the storm. The real show starts today. Look for more exclusive news and reports direct from BaselWorld here tomorrow!