The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry is not given to exuberant outpourings of emotion, but Champagne corks should be flying across the Jura Valley as the bean counters confirm 2021 as an all-time record breaker.
December exports rose by 8.5%, ending the year with unprecedented momentum as the world emerges from the pandemic.
That took the total value of Swiss watch exports to CHF 22.3 billion, 2.7% higher than in 2019 and just beating the all time record of CHF 22.25 billion back in 2014.
The UK ended the year as the fifth largest market in the world for Swiss watches, worth CHF 1.33 billion to exporters.
That represents a rise of 29% on last year, but not quite back to the record level of 2019 when the UK imported Swiss watches to the value of CHF 1.37 billion.
The United States had a spectacular year with Swiss exports valued at CHF 3.1 billion reaching the market, up 55% on last year and a staggering 28% over pre-pandemic 2019.
China in second place and Hong Kong in third were worth CHF 5 billion to Swiss watch exporters.
Before the manufacturers get too high on their success, it is worth noting that the record export figures were driven entirely by rising average prices.
The total number of watches sold in 2021 was 24% lower than 2019 at 15,725,397 units.
In 2015, Swiss watchmakers exported almost double that number at 28,137,527.
Reduced volumes are mainly at the cheaper end of the market, with the volume of watches sold in the CHF 200-500 price range dropping by 26.2% in December compared to the same month in 2021. Exports of watches priced at over CHF 3,000 were up by 16.4% over the same period.
Can it be that in the 2019 figures for the Uk, Ireland was still included? Which is since 2020 not the case. In other words in 2021 the UK exceeded 2019