PARIS — It’s the most wonderful year for timepieces, as Swiss watch exports in November recorded their best performance at 2.4 billion Swiss francs, a 10.9 percent increase from 2021, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Tuesday.
The $2 billion threshold was first breached in June.
Since January, total exports have reached 22.8 billion Swiss francs, 11.9 percent more than the same period last year, sustained by the double-digit growth trend seen throughout 2022.
Looking at materials showed that the strongest contributors to growth were precious metal watches, which accounted for more than half the growth, increasing 15.9 percent in value and 12 percent in volume. The “Other Materials” category saw the largest growth of the month, adding around 50 percent in both volume and value.
By contrast, steel, the largest category by unit numbers, saw its volume decrease 16.4 percent but its value grow 4.1 percent. Likewise, the Other Metals timepieces moved less items but increased in value.
While this made for a 2 percent decrease in the number of timepieces exported in November, the group noted the change in volume over the first 11 months of 2022 remained positive with a 1.7 percent rise.
Price increases and a strong dollar may be the strongest contributing factors to the overall boost in export numbers.
This also confirmed an overall trend toward higher-priced timepieces, with the 500 to 3,000 Swiss francs segment remaining steady and watches priced 3,000 Swiss francs and above jumping 15.7 percent.
Luxury groups reported stellar third-quarter figures across the board in recent weeks, showing no slowdown in consumer appetite for luxury goods.
While the entry-price watch segment showed signs of recovery with units exported rising 3.2 percent and a value increase in the high teens, mid-market timepieces continued to take a hit, as consumers increasingly eye either ends of the market.
According to the group, the U.S. continued to be a global driver, recording a 22nd month of “very strong growth,” at 32.9 percent. This solidified its place as the largest export market in the world, still at 20 percent. Since 2020, Swiss watch exports to the U.S. have nearly doubled.
COVID-19 continued to cast a long shadow for two territories. China, which had recovered over the summer but faced fresh rounds of lockdowns in major cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou in the fall, contracted 11.5 percent during the month. While it retained its second-largest market spot, the gap between the top two is widening as exports to China amounted to 212 million Swiss francs, just over half the U.S. market’s 400.1 million Swiss francs share.
Hong Kong, which has only recently lifted the last of its pandemic-related quarantine requirements, continued on a downward trajectory with an 8.9 percent slump. While both China and Hong Kong have been turbulent, they nonetheless have grown over pre-pandemic figures.
Although Asia’s slice of the Swiss watch export market receded to 47 percent, other markets across Asia saw growth, with Singapore leading with a 29.1 percent increase.
Despite cost-of-living concerns and the ongoing fears of a recession across the bloc, Europe saw an overall 8.4 percent growth during the month, driven by a double-digit increase in Italy, which had experienced a momentary slump earlier in the year, the U.K. and Germany.