Editor’s Note
This article highlights a significant shift in the Swiss watch industry, with exports declining in September. The sharp, double-digit drop in the crucial U.S. market is a primary driver, causing the country to fall behind other key importers.
Swiss watch exports are struggling to regain stable growth. In September, they contracted by -3.1% compared to the same period last year, to 2 billion Swiss francs.
The cause is the United States. Exports of Swiss watches to the industry’s primary market fell by -55.6%. With imports of 157 million francs, the country fell behind the United Kingdom (173 million francs and +15.2%) and Japan, despite its -7.9% drop to 158 million francs. Swiss watch exports to the United States faced the entry into force in mid-August of 39% US tariffs, which had already caused sales to drop by -23.9% in that summer month.
explained the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. While several Asian markets had been tending to slow the sector’s growth in recent months, the recovery was dynamic in September. Hong Kong saw a value increase of +20.6% to 156 million francs and Singapore benefited from an increase of +8.3% to 133 million francs. In China, the fifth most important region for the month, watch exports increased by +17.8%, or 152 million francs.
Consumers turned more towards the high-end segment than ultra-luxury. Watches with an export price between 500 and 3,000 francs saw their sales increase by +4.2%, while timepieces over 3,000 francs showed a decrease of -3.4%. Pieces under 500 francs decreased by -15.6%.
In the first nine months of the year, exports fell by -1.2%, to 19 billion francs. While the United States boosted its growth by +10.4% to 3.5 billion francs, Asia experienced a significant deceleration. In Japan, the industry’s second market, sales weakened by -6.5% to 1.4 billion francs. In China, the drop was even more drastic: -16.3% to 1.3 billion francs, and even -36.9% in the first three quarters of 2025 compared to 2023. Hong Kong (-8.3%), the United Kingdom (-0.8%) and Singapore (-1.6%) also faced more or less notable difficulties. France was not spared from this global slowdown and recorded a decline of -4.7% to 932 million francs.