Blog / Industry
By the Fine Watch Guide team · · 3 min read
Swiss watch exports reached CHF 2.23 billion in September 2026, up 11.7% on a year earlier and the third straight month of growth. Much of the headline comes from a weak comparison with September 2025, when US tariffs hit shipments. For owners, the useful signal is where the growth sits: cheaper watches grew fastest, while watches above CHF 3,000 grew a more modest 9.9%.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) reported that Swiss watch exports totaled CHF 2.23 billion in September 2026, up 11.7% from the same month a year earlier. Trade coverage of the release puts the volume at about 1.4 million timepieces, up 19.9%. Over the first nine months of the year, exports stand at CHF 19.5 billion, up 2.7%.
It's the third consecutive month of growth. July rose 9.6% and August 9.1%, after a rough April (down 16.6%) and a flat May (up 0.4%). June added 11.2%. So the year started uneven and has firmed up since early summer.
The US figure is the eye-catcher: roughly CHF 293 million, up about 86%. The watch industry association itself called it mainly a favorable base effect. In August 2025 a 39% US tariff on many Swiss goods took effect, and exports fell sharply afterward, partly because firms had shipped large volumes ahead of the tariffs. Compare a normal month to a depressed one and any recovery looks enormous.
The same distortion ran in the other direction earlier in the year. US exports fell 14.8% in the first half of 2026 because the April 2025 comparison was inflated by early shipments, when US exports spiked 150%. Measured against the first half of 2024 instead, US exports were up 2.6%. That's the better read: the American market is steady, not booming and not collapsing.
By value, watches priced under CHF 200 rose about 30% in September, and the CHF 200 to 500 band rose about 52%. The CHF 500 to 3,000 range grew 11.8%, and watches at CHF 3,000 and above grew 9.9%.
Earlier in the year the pattern was similar. Mechanical watches under CHF 500 grew 23.8% in the first half, while precious metal watches fell 6.5% in value. Bimetallic watches, the steel and gold combinations, rose 20.0%, which suggests buyers are looking for the gold look at a lower entry cost as the metal's price sits at record highs.
We wouldn't read this as the fine watch market weakening. A 9.9% rise at the top is healthy. It does mean the volume story is being written at the affordable end, and that's where the export numbers lean.
The six largest markets in September were the United States, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and mainland China, together about 53% of exports abroad. Hong Kong was up about 3%, and the UK was down about 5%. The EU as a whole rose roughly 15.5%.
France deserves a note. Lower US tariffs on EU imports made it a logistics hub for watch makers, so some of that growth reflects where watches are routed rather than who is wearing them. Export statistics record the first destination, not the final wrist.
Not directly. Export data counts shipments from Switzerland, valued at the price the brand charges its retailers or subsidiaries, so it says little about what a client pays for a specific reference. Brands set retail prices through their own schedules, and those moved separately: Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Tudor raised prices at the start of 2026, with Rolex averaging about 7% on US models according to trade reports.
What tariffs and shipping patterns can do is change timing. Brands and retailers moved large volumes early in 2025, and the industry itself has said US policy remains uncertain. If you're planning a purchase from an authorized dealer, an allocation or a delivery date can shift for reasons that have nothing to do with demand for your reference.
For owners, very little changes in the short term. A strong export month doesn't move the value of a pre-owned Submariner or Royal Oak by itself. Secondary market prices follow supply of specific references, condition, papers and service history far more than the monthly Swiss totals.
For buyers, the practical takeaways are modest. First, the market isn't contracting at the high end, so waiting for a broad price drop on sought-after references is a weak plan. Second, watch for gold and bimetallic pricing, since metal costs feed straight into retail lists. Third, ask a dealer plainly how long a delivery will take and whether the price is locked at order or at delivery.
For anyone holding a watch long term, the better use of this news is a reminder to keep the boring file in order: box, papers, receipts and service invoices. Those documents carry far more weight at resale than a good export month.
They come from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, which publishes monthly export values and, in trade coverage, unit counts by market and price segment.
Not on its own. Exports measure shipments out of Switzerland, while retail prices are set by each brand in its own price updates.
Tariff announcements trigger early shipments, which inflate one period and depress the next. Comparing against a period that wasn't distorted gives a clearer picture.
Yes, but slower than the entry level. Watches priced at CHF 3,000 and above grew 9.9% in September, against about 30% to 52% for watches under CHF 500.
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