Swiss Watch Exports Soar By 12% In The First Half Of 2023

Sales of new Swiss watches are booming. Exports of Swiss watches increased by nearly 12% for the first half of 2023, compared to the first half of 2022 to CHF 13.3-billion (about $15.4-billion). Exports for the month of June were up 14% over the same month last year, to CHF 2,445,200 (about $2,833,596). The amounts, released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) represent wholesale values.

The U.S. remains the top market for Swiss watches, with CHF 353,500 worth of watches exported to the country in June, representing an 8.8% increase over June of 2022, followed by China, which imported CHF 256,300 in watches, a 9% increase. Hong Kong (+46.2%) ended the first half at a very steady pace, returning to values close to those seen in 2017 for the first six months of the year.

In terms of volume, a total of 8,195,496 wristwatches were exported from Switzerland in the first half of 2023, representing a 13.9% increase over the first half of 2022. For the month of June, a total of 1,588,100 watches were exported in June, the majority of which (836,500) were made of steel. Another 39,000 were made of precious metals, and 95,900 were two-tone, a combination of precious metal and steel. Watches made of “other materials” – which could be titanium, carbon, ceramic, etc. – amounted to a total of 485,000 watches, a category that increased by 50.8%.

Growth was seen in all price segments, by both value and volume, and in particular, the lower-priced category of CHF 200-500 (about $232-580) continued its gradual recovery of the past six months, increasing by around 20% in June over the previous month. Exports to Europe were up 12.6%, led by Italy (+32.4%), Germany (+17.4%), France (+13.9) and the UK (+5.6%), although Spain (-6.9%) and the Netherlands (-6.7%) continued to lose ground.