PARIS — In December, Swiss watch exports saw a return to growth with a 3 percent increase to 2.1 billion Swiss francs, or $2.37 billion, driven by the U.S. and a surprising copilot — France.
Leaping to second place in the monthly tally, shipments to the country saw a 50.8 percent leap, according to figures published Thursday by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.
This recovery brought the total of exports for 2025 to 25.6 billion Swiss francs, or $33.37 billion, a 1.7 percent contraction year-on-year.
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After an eight-month rollercoaster around tariffs and four downcast months in response to anticipated shipments earlier in the year, shipments to the American market in the final month of 2025 grew 19.1 percent following the reduction of tariffs to 15 percent.
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Other top markets showed a less buoyant picture, with Hong Kong and China, the third and fourth markets by size, falling 8 percent and 6.8 percent respectively. Following them were Japan, with a 1.9 percent decrease, and the United Arab Emirates, slipping 5.2 percent but making its entry in the top six.
Across regions, the picture was an overall slip save for rare pockets of strong growth. Take Europe, where the U.K. grew 9.3 percent while decreases went from Germany’s 20 percent contraction to Spain’s 2.2 percent slip. The Asia-Pacific region, where Singapore stood out with a 13 percent rise and seventh-largest market by size, showed a similar picture, as did the Middle East.
While all price segments grew in December, performance in the month was driven by high-end timepieces, a segment that starts at 3,000 Swiss francs at export price, according to the industry body.
By materials, growth in value came from bi-metallic watches which leapt 41.2 percent in December. Steel watches dominated exports by volume with a 9 percent increase. The number of watches rose by 1.4 million in the final month of the year.
For the whole of 2025, the number of units leaving Switzerland declined by 4.8 percent to 14.6 million.
It was “a year of significant uncertainty and increasingly demanding market conditions for the Swiss watch industry,” said federation president Yves Bugmann. It stemmed from the convergence of the U.S.’s trade policy, which put an end to the steady growth of past years; the greater Chinese market, which has decreased by over a third in two years; as well as the leap in gold prices and a strong Swiss franc among the challenges.
In addition to the decline in exports from the industry, he also pointed out that the number of people employed by the sector fell by 1.3 percent, according to a September survey by the Swiss Watch Industry Employers’ Association.
“Production in Switzerland remains under pressure, especially upstream in the value chain, in a complex environment in which consumer trust remains weak as a result of the global geopolitical situation,” Bugmann added.
“At best, 2026 should remain steady, against a background still marked by significant uncertainty,” he said.
December’s figures for the U.S. read as a positive sign, but he noted that “the Chinese market is not expected to recover quickly.”
The export tallies come after luxury groups have begun reporting their annual results.
In the third-quarter fiscal sales of Compagnie Financière Richemont, published mid-January, sales at its specialist watchmakers made an unexpected 7 percent leap to 872 million euros. It was the second consecutive positive quarter for watches, with growth across all regions, powered by double-digit performances in the Americas and Middle East and Africa.
The group sold its loss-making watchmaker Baume & Mercier to Damiani in January for an undisclosed amount.
On Tuesday, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton reported its full-year figures, which showed watches and jewelry division was a bright spot, with organic sales up 8 percent. The French luxury conglomerate unveiled novelties from nine of its watchmaking houses during its traveling LVMH Watch Week showcase, held earlier this month in Milan.
A key moment of the watchmaking year is the annual Watches and Wonders fair, which will run April 14 to 20 in Geneva.