March brought to a close another very good first quarter for Swiss watch exports. Their monthly value stood at 1.6 billion francs, 15.2% more than in March 2011. The smoothed variation over twelve months thus remained essentially unchanged. The first quarter recorded exports valued at 4.6 billion francs, an increase of 17.0%.
Gold watches contributed significantly to this result, posting an increase of more than 25% both in value and volume terms. The upturn for steel timepieces lagged slightly behind overall value, while bimetallic watches produced an average result. The total number of timepieces exported remained very close to that of March 2011, with an increase in some materials being offset by a decline in other products.
Exports of wristwatches priced at under 3,000 francs (export price) recorded virtually the same result as last year: identical in volume terms but with a slight increase in value (+1.7%). Timepieces costing more than 3,000 francs were clear frontrunners with rates of increase in excess of 20%.
Unusually, the key markets of Hong Kong and China recorded below-average growth. In second position, the United States however recorded one of the highest increases among major destinations. Germany continued to make strong progress and Japan posted the highest increase on the Asian continent. France, Italy and the United Arab Emirates attained roughly the same levels as in March 2011.
All the statistics of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry
