Swiss Watch Exports Slip Slightly in March 2026
Swiss watch exports recorded a modest decline in March 2026, although shipment volumes continued to rise. According to figures released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, export value fell by 1% compared with the same period last year, while the number of exported watches increased by 5.1%.
For the first quarter of 2026, total Swiss watch exports reached CHF 6.2 billion, representing an increase of 1.4% compared with the first quarter of 2025.
Precious Metal Watches Weigh on Export Value
The decline in export value was influenced by weaker results for watches in precious metal cases, which fell by 4%, alongside a 9% decrease for steel models.
At the same time, the strongest growth in March came from watches classified under “other metals”, which rose by 31.8%, while bi-colour watches increased by 17.8%.
Export volumes also moved higher overall, with approximately 57,000 more watches shipped compared with the previous year. Growth in shipment volume was driven by bi-colour models (+5.9%), steel watches (+5.8%) and watches produced in other non-precious metals (+23.8%).
Strong Growth in the CHF 200 to 500 Segment
Different price categories produced mixed results during the month. The strongest performance came from watches priced between CHF 200 and 500, where exports increased sharply by 15.4%.
Most other price categories recorded declines averaging around 1%.
France Continues to Outperform
Although exports to the United States declined by 1.6% in March, the country remained the largest export market for Swiss watches.
France continued to show exceptionally strong growth, with exports rising by 72.4% during the month. Experts believe the surge, which has been visible since December, does not fully reflect the situation within the domestic French market, as much of the activity appears linked to re-exports into other countries.
Several other key markets posted relatively similar growth figures, including the United Kingdom (+3.2%), China (+4.2%) and Singapore (+4.9%). Hong Kong remained almost flat but still recorded a modest increase of 0.5%.
On the weaker side, exports to Japan fell by 12.6%, Germany declined by 8.5% and Saudi Arabia dropped by 16.8%.
Despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, exports to the United Arab Emirates remained relatively stable, edging higher by 0.7%.
Key Asian Markets Remain Slightly Negative in Q1
Looking at first-quarter performance overall, several major Asian markets remained marginally negative.
Exports to Japan declined by 0.4%, while Hong Kong and China recorded decreases of 0.8% and 0.7% respectively.
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