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The smartwatches that mattered at Baselworld 2015

At luxury watch fair Baselworld, even traditional watch brands have begun to embrace connected technology. Here's our pick of the crop at this year's show.

Andrew Lanxon
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Andrew Lanxon
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1 of 6 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

BASEL, Switzerland -- First up is the Frederique Constant Horological Smartwatch. This watch is hand-made in Switzerland and features a classic analogue face.

It connects to Android and iOS phones, allowing it to track your activity -- including steps, distance and calories burned -- and show how long and how well you slept. Using the app, you can set activity goals, and your progression through the goal is shown as a percentage on the mechanical dial at the bottom of the face.

It's due to go on sale this June, globally, and will start at 950 euros (around $1,015, £685 or AU$1,325).

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TAG Heuer went all in on its smart wear, announcing a partnership with Google and Intel for an upcoming Android Wear smartwatch.

Little is known about the device itself, and no details about price or release date were announced. As an Android Wear device, we can expect a digital face, and software identical to that you'll find on existing Android Wear devices such as the LG G Watch R. Whether TAG Heuer fuses the digital face with analogue hands in order to help it appeal to its more traditional customers remains to be seen.

The announcement was celebrated on stage by the cutting of this massive cheese, made by TAG's CEO from his 86 dairy cows. "We have a good history. That's why before you leave, you will eat my cheese," he stated. He meant it too, and it was delicious.

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Rather than a tech giant like Google, Gucci has teamed up with former Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am for a smart band which will work independently of your phone.

It manages this thanks to its 3G connectivity and will also include features such as a front facing camera, fitness tracking, notifications, and music control.

Although Will.i.am was wearing a version of the smart band, it's apparently a long way from being ready for launch, so for now, we just have to wait.

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4 of 6 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

A new brand was brave enough to enter the increasingly crowded smartwatch arena. Vector launched a range of smartwatches, which all promise an impressive 30 days of battery life.

Vector explained that the monochrome display and simple software both help achieve that figure. It syncs to Android, iOS and even Windows Phone devices and will show incoming calls, texts, general notification and fitness activity too.

Vector is also opening the watch up to third-party developers. Nest is already on board, allowing the watch to control your Nest smart thermostat from your wrist.

It'll be on sale this summer for $349 (which converts to roughly £235 or AU$450).

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Breitling got in on the connected watch game too. The B55 Connected isn't a fully fledged smartwatch, so don't expect it to track your health or show you your notifications.

What it will do though is link to your phone to instantly and accurately change time zones on the watch, as well as let you record flight times. Recording flight times may not be the most common smartwatch feature, but the B55 is aimed at pilots, who are legally obliged to keep a record of all their times.

Still in the concept phase for now, the B55 Connected will potentially be on sale at the end of this year and Breitling is hoping to keep the price under $10,000.

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Mondaine's Helvetica 1 smartwatch uses the same internal technology as Frederique Constant's, meaning both watches are able to track your steps and your sleep, feeding that information back to your smartphone.

For its watch, Mondaine has stuck to its iconic minimalist Swiss design, with an all-metal body and leather strap. It'll be available later this year for around $900 (roughly £600 or AU$1,150).

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