Watches, down 9.5% year-on-year in May
Despite the decline, the first five months of 2025 show an increase in exports of 1.1%. Among the top ten markets, sales rise only in the United Arab Emirates
3' min read
3' min read
After a strong increase in April, Swiss watch exports contracted in May. At the centre of the scene was once again the number one market, that of the United States, which had made a big leap in April thanks to the tariffs-stocks effect, an effect which has since worn off. Basically, the uncertainty caused by the US tariffs announcements had led many traders to stockpile. In May this did not happen and the US therefore fell and joined other major markets already in negative territory.
Exports of Swiss timepieces in May totalled CHF 2.09 billion (EUR 2.23 billion at current exchange rates), 9.5% less than in the same month of 2024. Despite this contraction, the balance for the first five months of 2025 remains positive: between January and May, exports amounted to CHF 10.76 billion (EUR 11.48 billion), 1.1% more than in the same period last year. This year there was a negative sign in February and precisely in April, while in the other three months there were upturns for exports of Swiss watches.
This is the performance of the top ten markets in May: United States CHF 268 million (-25%), China CHF 165 million (-17%), Japan CHF 158 million (-10%), Hong Kong CHF 156 million (-12%), Singapore CHF 136 million (-3%), United Kingdom CHF 130 million (-14%), United Arab Emirates CHF 120 million (+17%, the only market in the top ten with a positive sign in May), France CHF 118 million (-18%), Germany CHF 109 million (-4%), Italy CHF 91 million (-9%).
In terms of the type of products exported, there was a negative sign in almost all ranges. The high range, that of watches priced above CHF 3,000, recorded -11% in value; the medium-high range, priced between CHF 500 and CHF 3,000, was the only one to have a positive sign (+0.2%); the medium range, priced between CHF 200 and CHF 500, had a -14% and the basic range, priced below CHF 200, recorded -9%.
The snapshot of the top ten in the first five months of 2025 shows that only two markets are in the positive: the USA by a wide margin and Italy by a small margin. This is the trend: USA 2.2 billion francs (+28%), Japan 775 million (-1%), Hong Kong 729 million (-13%), China 720 million (-23%), UK 667 million (-0.6%), Singapore 662 million (-5%), United Arab Emirates 521.4 million (-1%), Germany 521.3 million (-2%), France 510 million (-5%), Italy 410 million (+1.1%).
