Swiss Watch Exports Rise 11.7% in September: The US Recovers From Its Tariff Low

Exports reached 2.23 billion Swiss francs, the fourth consecutive month of growth, and after nine months they stand 2.7 per cent higher than a year earlier, at 19.5 billion francs. September completes a quarter that turned the year around. At the end of June, exports were still 0.7 per cent behind 2025. July and August each added around nine per cent.

In brief

United States. Exports rose 85.7 per cent to 292.9 million francs, measured against September 2025, when a 39 per cent US tariff had cut shipments by more than half. They made up 13.2 per cent of all Swiss watch exports. Compared with September 2024, before the tariff dispute, they remain about 60 million francs short. Since 24 July 2026, Swiss goods have faced a total US tariff of 12.5 per cent, according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

France. Exports rose 128.8 per cent. The FH attributes the jump to the way shipments are allocated between European markets, at the expense of other countries in the region. France has served as a logistics hub for Swiss watches since late 2025.

Prices. Watches with an export price below CHF 200 rose 30 per cent, and those between CHF 200 and 500 rose 52 per cent. Watches at CHF 3,000 and above grew 9.9 per cent, less than the industry as a whole.

Asia. China fell 14.2 per cent, which the FH attributes to an unusually strong September 2025. Singapore and the United Arab Emirates also declined. Japan rose 12 per cent to 177.3 million francs, and Hong Kong grew 3 per cent.

Why it matters

The recovery is coming from the lower end of the price range. In the first half of 2026, the FH reported, volume growth came mainly from mechanical watches with an export price below CHF 500, and September continued that pattern while the most expensive segment grew more slowly than the market.

That runs against a decade of fewer, more expensive watches. Switzerland exported about 14.6 million wristwatches in 2025, 43 per cent fewer than in 2016, while the value of its watch exports rose 34 per cent, according to a Deloitte study of the industry’s suppliers published on 30 September 2026.

Mexico shows the steadier side of the year. Exports there rose 44 per cent in September 2025, the month US shipments collapsed, and another 14.9 per cent in the first half of 2026. For 2026 as a whole, the FH expects a result close to 2025.

Continue · The reading Swiss Watch Exports in Q3 2026 Mexico, the US and the watches under CHF 500 that turned the year. Read the reading →