Swiss watch exports in the first half of 2021: a return to 2019 level

The first half of the year was an atypical one for Swiss watch exports, with some highly contrasting situations in the main markets. Following the crisis in 2020, the recovery in exports began and then accelerated, in a context that is still marked by the pandemic and the new normal that is now emerging. Among other things, the latter is the result of shifts in distribution and among consumers, both in geographical terms and in the luxury goods market.

Watch exports were valued at 10.6 billion Swiss francs in the first half of 2021. This was comparable (-0.5%) to the result achieved in 2019, which is viewed as the reference year given that the historically poor performance recorded in 2020 cannot be used for comparison. The trend seen since the start of the year suggests that there could be a return to the annual levels seen before the crisis in early 2022. This is faster that initially expected and would mean that the sector will have needed slightly more than a year to offset the sharp decline linked to the pandemic in 2020.

The decline in volumes, which affected all groups of materials, was largely due to steel watches (-27.1%) and the other materials category (-50.1%). Value was supported by the growth in timekeepers made from precious metals (+3.6%). The slight increase in value was due to the growth (+7.4%) recorded by watches priced at over 3,000 francs (export price), while other segments declined significantly. This price range also saw an increase in the number of items exported (+5.6%), but without any real impact on the total, since the increase only represents just over 45,000 watches. The overall result was impacted by the sharp decline (-38.1%) in items priced at under 500 francs.