Silent Luxury

On October 10, 2025, Switzerland celebrated its first World Watch Day. It’s a tribute to craftsmanship, engineering, and brands that have long become part of the country's cultural infrastructure. Yet while the industry celebrates its history, it finds itself under economic pressure.

The new Deloitte study Swiss Watch Industry 2025 describes a year shaped less by crisis than by friction. After reaching a record high in 2023 with exports worth CHF 26.7 billion, sales fell by around three percent the following year. The mid-price segment up to CHF 3,000 was particularly affected, where the decline reached 16 percent.

The American market, the most important sales region since 2021, has once again become an unknown following the US government's recent tariff measures. With 39 percent import duties on Swiss watches, manufacturers are responding with price adjustments, advance deliveries, or targeted inventory management. These measures provide short-term stability but fundamentally alter market structures in the long run.

The Economics of Precision

The watch industry remains an indicator of global economic currents. A strong franc, rising gold prices, and subdued consumer sentiment in China and Hong Kong weigh on demand. In China, exports fell by 26 percent in 2024, a figure now soberly factored into calculations in Geneva and Biel.

At the same time, a shift in the luxury structure is becoming apparent: growth is increasingly concentrated in models priced above CHF 50,000. Sixty-four percent of surveyed executives assess prospects in this segment as positive. The result is a quiet but clear shift from volume to value.

New Markets, New Rhythms

India and Mexico are emerging as closely watched growth markets. India recorded a seven percent increase in 2025, while Mexico posted double-digit growth rates for the first time, both driven by a younger, digitally oriented buyer demographic.

The rise of these markets marks a shift in perspective. Luxury no longer follows only geographic lines, but cultural ones. Where European and American buyers once set the pace, demand today is shaped by communities, narratives, and digital touchpoints.

Strategies in the Rhythm of Uncertainty

Within the industry, focus prevails. Brands and suppliers invest more selectively, often in smaller, controllable innovation projects. Seventy percent of surveyed suppliers are reducing their investments, while almost as many are moving into automation and new materials.

Innovation is less an expression of expansion than of precision. Many brands are experimenting with hybrid technologies, digital development processes, and new formats for brand experience and distribution. The picture is one of quiet but determined progress.

Between Adaptation and Constancy

Forty-three percent of industry leaders expect a deterioration in export markets over the next twelve months. Nevertheless, the will to renew remains palpable: new collections, new markets, new forms of presentation.

Cyrille Vigneron, President of the Watches & Wonders Foundation, aptly describes the dynamic: "The cycles of disruption are becoming shorter. Agility becomes the real craft."

2025 is not a turning point, but a phase of concentration. Between weaker demand and precise planning, a sector is emerging that is resetting its rhythm — quieter, more controlled, but with an unchanged claim to perfection.

This article opens a series that will analyze key findings of the Deloitte study in detail in the coming weeks: from new market structures and consumer behavior to cultural shifts within the global luxury segment.
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Diese Analyse ist Teil einer fortlaufenden Serie zur Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Study 2025. Abonnieren Sie den Newsletter, um die kommenden Beiträge direkt zu erhalten: abonnieren.