Swiss watch exports plunged 9.5 % year-on-year in May, sliding to CHF 2.1 billion as wholesalers unwound a pre-tariff surge from April and braced for ongoing trade uncertainty.
US Shipments Reverse April Spike
Exports to the United States—the sector’s largest market—fell 25.3 % after a 10 % levy on Swiss goods took effect on April 1. That pull-forward effect had driven a 149 % jump in US-bound shipments in April; May’s numbers reflect a sharp unwind of that stockpiling ahead of talks on a bilateral deal that could avert an even steeper 31 % duty.
Key Asian markets also suffered significant slumps: imports into China tumbled 17.4 %, Hong Kong 12.6 % and Japan 10.5 %, while the United Kingdom declined 14.5 %. Only the United Arab Emirates bucked the trend among the six top destinations, but cumulative exports to these markets fell 16 % overall.
Unit Volumes and Material Mix
The number of watches exported dropped 13.4 % to 1.17 million units. The “other materials” segment was hardest hit (–38.4 %), steel timepieces held steady in unit volumes yet lost 9.3 % in value, and gold and bi-metal models saw double-digit contractions.
Only watches priced between CHF 500 and CHF 3,000 avoided value declines in May; all other price segments contracted by an average of 11.4 %.
Year-to-Date Still Slightly Positive
Despite May’s setback, cumulative exports for January through May edged up 1.1 % to CHF 10.8 billion. However, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry warns that export figures overstate underlying demand, signalling potential downside in actual end-customer sales.
Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy flagged rising “luxury fatigue,” a waning “feel-good factor” from high-end purchases and deteriorating consumer sentiment as mounting headwinds for the sector.
Equity Impact
Early trading in Zurich saw Swatch Group AG shares slip up to 2.3 %, and Richemont SA down as much as 2.5 %, underscoring investor unease over the tariff-driven slowdown.
The watch industry’s woes mirror a wider Swiss export slump—overall foreign sales declined 42 % in May, narrowing the trade surplus to its lowest level in nearly five years. Absent a timely bilateral accord to forestall higher levies, the outlook for luxury timepieces remains clouded.
