Luxury watchmakers are going back to basics with classic designs, as industry players at the world’s biggest watch fair in Switzerland warned Wednesday that the “years of extravagance” were over.

While the industry is reporting a glimmer of recovery, watchmakers gathering in the Swiss city of Basel also noted that recovery was fragile and that the mood among consumers was far from the heady pre-crisis years.

“After several months of economic upturn, there are some positive signs,” said Jacques Duchene, head of the organising committee for the Baselworld fair which officially kicks off on Thursday.

Companies such as Hublot and the giant Swatch have declared that the sales have been “exceptional” so far this year.

Hublot chief Jean-Claude Biver said that January was “the best in history, just like February would be and probably March.”

However, Duchene also warned: “We should not be overly confident, because the global economic situation is still highly precarious.”

Jaeger-LeCoultre has launched a new iPhone application that aims to share the fascinating world of fine watch making with the public.

Rather than simply present their collection, the app invites you to look at iconic models from a whole new angle: the perspective of an amateur watchmaker.

The application lets you explore the various stages in creating a watch, and a comprehensive horological dictionary compliments the six introductory lessons.

Celebrated Swiss vanguard watchmaker Ulysse Nardin has partnered with the European firm, SCI Innovations, to create the world’s first hybrid smart phone: the Chairman.

It will incorporate a Ulysse Nardin designed kinetic rotor system which is blended into the mechanical and aesthetical design of the smart phone.

The Chairman will also include several components never seen before in a smart phone.

Apparently not everyone is feeling the bite of the recession. A European mogul has commissioned luxury Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin to create a one-of-a-kind $6.5 million timepiece which will automatically become one of the most expensive watches in the world.

The design, which may take years to complete, will be many times more precious than Vacheron’s Tour de l’Ile timepiece (picture above) created for the company’s 250th anniversary in 2005. Only seven pieces were produced at $1.5 million each.

The features of this time exquisite time piece include a perpetual calendar and leap year, star chart, celestial annual calendar, tourbillon regulator, sunrise and sunset indication, perpetual time equation, phases and age of the moon, substantial power reserve, multiple time zones and day-night indication, among others.

« If owning a regular Vacheron Constantin watch is the equivalent of owning a Rolls-Royce, then having this watch will be like having a garage full of them »