Baselworld is a politely divided show. On one hand you have the most exquisite watches ever made, you have heritage and tradition, craftsmanship and some very expensive results.

On the other hand, you have a movement to upgrade the watch into something new. This isn't just a digital revolution - we've seen that before - but a connected revolution that's been rolling on for a couple of years.

Baselworld doesn't attract all the smartwatch manufacturers however. It's really a place where existing brands show off their digital moves, or on some cases, come for validation that they're making watches, rather than just technology toys. 

Here's a run-down of some of the most interesting connected watches at Baselworld 2017. 

Smartwatches

Guess Connect gets a bling ting

Guess has been in the connected watch game for a while. There was the original Martian-powered Guess Connect, but now there's the Guess Connect Touch, getting the full Android Wear treatment. This is a fashion-first watch, so it's not overloaded with sensors and wanting to replace your Garmin. No, it's designed to give you a Guess watch, but with a fully connected experience. Qualcomm Snapdragon, 390 x 390 round AMOLED display and Android Wear 2.0 tells you all you need to know. 

There are six bling models for women and four unisex models, all 41mm and there's a larger selection of six 44mm watches for guys.

Fossil dumps the flat tyre

Fossil is racing through smartwatches faster than you can say update. Not only is the company spreading its skills across the fashion brands it makes watches for, but it's leading the way with its own devices. The Q Venture and Q Explorist bring something we've been waiting for from Fossil: no flat tyre. 

That means a properly round display on this model, giving instant appeal over the previous generation. With a 42mm diameter case, they are only 11.3mm thick, addressing concerns that smartwatches have to be fat. There's a range of colours and strap choices, in these smart classical designs.

 

Diesel goes big 

Diesel (one of the Fossil brands) has gone big on Android Wear too. In typically brash Diesel style, the Diesel On is a massive smartwatch that not only runs AW2.0, but has some of the most considered customisation on the watch faces that we've seen. There are unique dial effects, such as dust gathering if you haven't moved for a while, or a cracking effect when you get a private message. 

Sadly Diesel wouldn't let us photograph the Diesel On, so you'll have to make do with this press photo. It should be hitting store around Christmas 2017, costing about $325.

 

Michael Kors goes round, adds Instagram love

We loved the last MK smartwatch. It's a watch that tech heads don't understand, but fashion people do. Sometimes it's fine to buy things because they look good and it's this mantra that's seen an MK watch on lots and lots of people. Expanding the Access family, there's now the Grayson and the Sofie.

As these are Fossil Group watches, you'll find the display is now round (yay), so no explaining away that flat tyre. That's only going to make people more enthusiastic about this smartwatch. Another twist that's been added is called "micro apps". In the case of Michael Kors, you'll be able to use an Instagram image as your watch face for a totally unique looks. 

The Sofie and Grayson will be available from $350 and although we saw them, MK wouldn't let us take any photos.

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45

Not specifically a Baselworld launch, but it dominated the front of Tag's stand at the Swiss show. The Modular 45 is the follow-up to the original 2016 Connected. Tag is calling that first watch a success, so is pushing customisation and modularity in the new model. You can change the strap, buckle or even the lugs to create a new look, as well as being able to order the watch with a range of coloured bezels and in a range of premium materials. 

It's as glorious as you'd expect a (from) £1400 smartwatch to be, but interestingly it's also compatible with analogue watch faces, so if you're bored of the connected experience, you can disconnect. 

The Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 is available to buy now.

MyKronoz has ZeTime and ze smarts

MyKronoz is trying to bust onto the smartwatch scene, combining traditional hands with a full smartwatch face. The secret here has been drilling a hole in the TFT display to enable the mechanical part to poke through. The advantage you get is a month of analogue hand movement, even after the smart part has given up. 

Best of both worlds? Perhaps. MyKronoz is also going it alone on the platform, however, so although you'll get support for plenty of functions, this isn't going to be part of the Android Wear movement. The company has just started Kickstarter funding, but says the MyKronoz is going to be available for $199 by September.

Casio Pro Trek Smart, but with added sapphire 

Casio unveiled the Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 at CES 2017, appearing at Baselworld to remind people that it's launching on 21 April costing £450. But that's not all. Not content with having one version of the Pro Trek Smart, there's a very special WSD-F20S too.

This version of the Casio smartwatch is limited to 500 pieces, it gets a sapphire crystal face and ion body plating for extra protection in its rugged but muted finish. It offers all the connectivity of the regular version, including Android Wear 2.0, GPS with offline mapping and that clever dual-layer display. 

There's no word on pricing on this model, however.

Misfit bites the Android Wear bullet 

The Misfit Vapor surfaced at CES 2017, showing off a custom user interface and an simple industrial design. Fuss free, with fitness tracking and that impressive virtual bezel. 

Misfit has made a slight about turn on this model, however, as it's now going to be powered by Android Wear 2.0 and we get the feeling that Google's move to a rotational interface has something to do with it. The exciting thing, however, is that the Misfit Vapor is going to be landing at $199. Exciting times.

 

Gc offers connected luxe

Gc is the Swiss Made luxury arm of Guess and like its sister company, it too is offering an Android Wear device. In this case you're looking at ceramics, with a ceramic strap and bezel option. There are eight different models, presented in 44mm and 41mm sizes, for men and women respectively. There's a range of straps - leather, stainless steel, silicone - and the specs are very much the same as the Guess Connect. Snapdragon 2100, Android Wear 2.0, and so on.

This Samsung Gear S3 by Arik Levy 

Samsung brought its particular blend of smartwatch technology to Baselworld's halls, with a showcase for the Gear S3. Not content to just show the Gear S3, it held a press conference to talk about making watches, working with designers and lots of other self-affirming stuff. 

But it did show off a selection of Arik Levy concept models which we rather like. So this is just the Gear S3 that you know and love and we think it looks rather sweet. 

Oh, you'd rather know about the other Samsung stuff?

 

Not this Samsung Gear S3 inspired pocket watch

Well fine. Samsung turned up at Baselworld having got Yvan Arpa to stuff mechanical innards into the body of the Gear S3. The result is a range of concept models that have a Swiss heart with a hint of Samsung about them, which is altogether rather weird and admittedly, not a smartwatch at all.

Concept watches we can appreciate, they look rather nice, even with the massive 3 on the face. But a pocket watch? Come now, it's a thing of beauty, even if it is rather pointless - unlike the compass version, which points north. Who says that wearables lack direction? 

Hybrids 

Hybrid watches are coming on in a big way, with some manufacturers throwing a lot at this segments of the market. The distinct advantage here is that you can wear something that looks like a conventional watch, with the time and date, but get some secret extras along the way.

Marc Jacobs goes ultra cute

You'd probably buy the Marc Jacobs Riley just because it looks cute. It has simple stylings and great use of colours to make a distinctive timepiece, but there's a connected secret lying within. This is one of the Fossil Group's new hybrid devices, so it will track your steps and give you discreet notifications.

Those side buttons are programmable too, so you get to choose what they do thanks to the app. Best of all, you don't need to constantly charge this watch, it will offer these functions without needed a charge every night.

Fossil gets slimmer, again

Ok let's cut to the chase: Fossil is going big on hybrid watches again. It did the same in 2016, offering a wide range of connected features to a range of watches that just look normal. So, if you were thinking of buying a watch, Fossil will do a little more, like alert you to incoming calls.

There's a full range of models for chaps or gals, loads of styles and choices and they all offer the same functionality. Like that Marc Jacobs watch, programmable buttons means you get to choose what the watch does when you poke it.

Guess gets a boost

Guess isn't just about embracing Android Wear, the company has also adapted the Timex IQ model to add tracking smarts to its own hybrid watch. These watches will track activity, sleep and give you an app to control a lot of what's happening on your watch, all with no charging required.

There are a choice of 37mm and 41mm models, with stainless steels and leathers for a traditional look, or nylon and silicones for something more sporty.

Casio Edifice goes to the races

You might not think the Edifice isn't a hybrid, but it fuses traditional styling with smart features when connected to the smartphone app via Bluetooth. As Edifice is a sponsor of the Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 team, it's completely appropriate that the EQB-800 gets a race lap chronograph. 

You'll get a range of stopwatch functions and all the data can be transferred to your phone and viewed on a graph, with units down to 1/1000sec. There's also automatic timezones as you travel around the world, and yes, there's a solar panel to keep the thing powered up.