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Growth rate steadies for Swiss watch exports

Swiss watch industry exports grew in value by 5.7% in April year-on-year to CHF 1.8bn (£1.24bn), according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Although the figures still represent growth in this first third of the year, the Federation said that the growth is less sustained than before and has entered "a phase of normalisation".

In regards to the first four months of the year, the results stood at CHF6.5bn (£4.5bn), which is 3.3% higher than in January to April, 2012.

Steel watches were said to have performed well, benefiting the overall results. The value of exports was also boosted by watches in the gold category and the "other metals" category. When it came to the actual number of pieces, steel made more modest gains. However, the "other materials" category experienced a sharp decline.

In April, only the segment of wristwatches costing less than CHF200 (£138) (export price) reported a negative trend. In particular, volumes dropped by 11%. The segment of watches between CHF200 (£138) and CHF500 (£344) witnessed the most significant advance, with the number of pieces up by 19.4%. The CHF500 (£344) to CHF3,000 (£2,065) category remained stable.

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