Press release
The trend remained very buoyant in February, with scant regard for an unfavourable base effect. The value of watch exports rose 19.7% compared to February 2011, to a level of 1.6 billion francs. The normalization of growth expected this year is probably still around the corner.
Gold watches made the strongest showing and contributed in no small measure to the general upturn. Bimetallic timepieces also registered growth in excess of 20%, while steel fell back slightly, recording a two-digit increase nonetheless. Steel however had a major positive effect on the volume of timepieces exported and generated a large proportion of growth.
The positive trend was more marked higher up the price range. Watches costing more than 3,000 francs (export price) saw their value increase by 26.8%, well ahead of all other segments. Timepieces costing less than 200 francs accounted for the larger part of volumes and registered an increase of 5.1%.
Hong Kong once again picked up the pace with a particularly robust performance in February. The United States showed a positive result, albeit on a more modest scale. In third position, China also recorded a strong upturn. European markets were more mixed: France remained stable, while Germany showed a marked improvement and Italy lost ground.
Statistics of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry
