Before President Trump announced the 39 percent tariff that rattled the Swiss watch industry, the sector's exports were actually on the rise.
After a decline in June, Switzerland's exported timepieces were up 6.9 percent year over year (to the tune of about 2.6 billion Swiss francs, or nearly $3 million), the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry announced on Thursday. The increase was primarily due to companies attempting to send more pieces to the U.S. before Trump's levies were implemented, Bloomberg reported .
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Factoring out the looming U.S. tariffs, though, Swiss watch exports would have seen a drop of 0.9 percent, Bloomberg reported, in line with struggles the industry has seen throughout the year. Japan saw a massive decline in Swiss watch exports at just over 10 percent; China fared slightly better, with a 6.5 percent drop, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry's report .
Swiss timepieces carrying a price tag of over 3,000 Swiss francs (around $3,700) sold best in July, touting an increase of 9.4 percent. Watches hovering between 200 and 500 francs (about $250 to $620) also saw an uptick of 7.3 percent in exports.
Trump's 39 percent tariff on Switzerland, announced earlier this month, is one of the highest levies that the U.S. has put into place to date; Britain and the E.U. got slapped with a 10 percent and a 15 percent tariff by the U.S., respectively. If the levy remains, it could send Switzerland's GDP tumbling by up to 0.4 percent over four quarters, according to UBS economists. It will also have a massive impact on a variety of coveted watch brands, from Rolex to Patek Philippe to Audemars Piguet.
In the face of these tariffs, the pre-owned watch market is on the rise. The sector just had its best half-year performance since early 2022, gaining 5.3 percent, according to the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index. With Switzerland trying to reduce that U.S. levy, though, we may be in for even more watch-world shake-ups.
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