Editor’s Note
As the watch industry faces significant headwinds, including a potential 39% tariff on Swiss exports to the U.S., brands are increasingly turning to gem-studded, high-jewelry timepieces. This article explores why these historically resilient, investment-grade pieces are being viewed as a guiding light for the sector’s recovery.
With a 39 percent tariff on Swiss watch exports to the United States, the industry’s largest market, looming over an already struggling sector, the glow of jewelry watches may be what guides brands through these dark times. Experts say the watch industry’s road to success this year may be paved with diamonds.
Historically investment-worthy and immune to fashion cycles, gem-studded designs have been popping up in new collections all year, almost all in the “price on application” category that indicates six figures or more.
Watch groups have seen declines this year, with a Morgan Stanley report on the first half of 2025 estimating that watch sales at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the owner of brands such as TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith, were down 3.1 percent in comparison with the same period last year, while sales at Richemont, the owner of brands such as Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, fell 2.4 percent and at Swatch Group 1.1 percent.
Jewelry, in comparison, has been performing well, with a 2024 Bain & Company report on luxury goods stating there had been a 2 percent increase in global sales, which totaled 31 billion euros ($36.4 billion). The sector “held strong, especially in the high jewelry segment,” it said.
The Bird on a Rock Legacy Watch from Tiffany was named after the 1.45-carat morganite affixed to the dial as the bird’s perch. Tiffany calls it a legacy stone because the company itself named it for the financier and gem collector J.P. Morgan.