Swiss watch exports have grown by 3% in the first half of 2014 with watches worth a total of CHF 10.5 billion (£6.85bn) being shipped around the world.
June saw watches worth CHF 1.9 billion (£1.2bn) exported, which equates to a year-on-year value increase of 1.4%. Watches made from precious metals accounted for the rise in value, with steel and bimetal watches remaining comparable to June 2013.
In total 2.4 million timepieces were shipped from Switzerland to clients around the world in June. Watches manufactured from ‘other metals’ such as titanium registered a sharp, 20.5% drop in demand while those produced in ‘other materials’, such as ceramic and carbon fibre, displayed remarkable growth of 29.4%.
Demand for watches at almost every price category was up, with entry level watches in the sub CHF 200 category displaying the highest demand at 6.9% despite a drop in value of 2.8% across the segment.
Half of the 30 main export markets registered downturns despite the generally positive figures. Italy and Japan both registered impressive double-digit growth in orders, 14.5% and 20.4% respectively. Growth in the Japanese market has been ongoing since the end of 2013 and after showing signs of recovery the Chinese market registered a dip in demand.
