Swiss Watch Industry Bounces Back: +4.1% in January
After a year of decline, the new year begins with encouraging figures, though China remains an uncertainty.
About a year ago, I wrote an article titled "2024 Is Shaping Up to Be a Difficult Year for the Watch Industry", highlighting the first signs of trouble emerging from the financial reports of major watch groups and the declining export figures for Swiss timepieces worldwide.
Month after month, the news remained largely negative, with the struggling Chinese market playing a significant role in the downturn.
Focusing on export data, which the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry releases monthly, 2024 ended with a -2.8% decline compared to 2023, totaling CHF 24.8 billion.
While this figure did not reach the record-breaking levels of 2023, it matched the total recorded in 2022 and remained higher than previous years:
2019: CHF 21.7 billion
2020: CHF 15.3 billion (COVID-19 impact)
2021: CHF 22.3 billion
However, 2025 has started with encouraging signs. In January, Swiss watch exports showed a reversal in trend, reaching CHF 1.99 billion, an increase of +4.1% compared to the same month in 2024.
This growth was primarily driven by the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. market saw a 16.2% increase, while Japan recorded an impressive +26.2% jump. On the other hand, China and Hong Kong experienced significant declines of -29.1% and -11.7%, respectively.
A year ago, in January 2023, China ranked as the second-largest market for Swiss watch exports, with Hong Kong in third and Singapore in fourth place. In January 2025, these three markets have dropped to fourth, third, and fifth place, respectively.
Still within Asia, Japan and South Korea have emerged as key players in the past two years. Japan’s demand has surged by +34%, while South Korea has nearly doubled the value of its Swiss watch imports, with a remarkable +48.4% increase.
Analyzing the different price ranges, luxury watches showed a positive performance. Models priced above CHF 3,000 saw a 7% increase in value. The lower price ranges showed mixed variations: watches under CHF 200 had a 1%, while the CHF 200-500 and CHF 500-3,000 ranges experienced declines of 7% and 8%, respectively.
These figures confirm a trend observed in recent years: the number of watches exported continues to decline, while the average price per unit continues to rise.
The promising start to 2025 brings cautious optimism, yet uncertainties remain, particularly regarding demand from China and Hong Kong. However, the strength of the U.S. market and the growing appetite for Swiss watches in Japan and South Korea present new opportunities for the industry.
Time will tell whether January’s figures mark the beginning of a sustained recovery for Swiss watch exports in 2025.
