Editor’s Note
This analysis highlights a pivotal shift in luxury consumption, where ultra-high-end jewelry is outperforming watches, driving Richemont’s strong quarterly results. The trend underscores how post-pandemic spending patterns and market liquidity continue to reshape the luxury landscape.
An analysis suggests that the consumption of the world’s wealthy has shifted from watches to ultra-high-end jewelry. The diagnosis is that demand recovery is being delayed as high-end spending surged following the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by abundant market liquidity.
On the 18th (local time), CNBC reported that Swiss luxury group Richemont earned 5.17 billion euros in the first quarter of this year, exceeding market expectations. Sales in the jewelry maisons division increased by 11%, driving the strong performance.
Total sales for the 2025 fiscal year were recorded at 21.4 billion euros, a 4% increase from the previous year. Jewelry grew by 8% year-on-year, becoming the best-performing business segment within the Richemont group. Richemont owns several luxury jewelry brands, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati, and Cartier.
In contrast, watch sales declined. Richemont’s Specialist Watchmakers division, which includes Piaget and Roger Dubuis, saw a 13% decrease in sales compared to the previous year. Richemont diagnosed that “the global watch market has contracted due to an overall decline in demand, with the slowdown in demand from China having the most significant impact.”
The market analysis suggests that demand recovery for high-end watches is bound to be slower than for jewelry because they are categorized as long-term or lifetime purchases. Unlike jewelry or bags, which can be swapped according to the occasion, watches are often used for a long time.
Richemont Group is also assessed to be transitioning to a structure more reliant on its jewelry division. This is because the jewelry market is showing relative growth while demand for watches, as well as luxury fashion and leather goods, is declining due to global trade uncertainties. However, factors such as a strong Swiss franc, rising gold prices, and tariff pressures are seen as potential variables for future business.