Watches

Swiss watch exports rise 9.1% in August, US shipments fall 19.4%

The FH put August shipments at CHF 1,789.2m, with one more working day than 2025. The United Kingdom rose 46.1% and France 113.5%, while the United States stayed the largest market.

By The Watch Desk

What changed

Growth, minus America. Swiss watch exports rose 9.1% in August to CHF 1,789.2m, on one more working day than 2025. Shipments to the United States fell 19.4%.

What it means

  • If you buy Swiss stock: August gained a working day over 2025, so the rate flatters the month.
  • If you sell into America: US shipments fell 19.4% against a favourable comparison base.
  • What this is not: retail demand. FH counts exports at declared export prices.

Key figures

August totalall watch products, export pricesCHF 1,789.2m
United StatesCHF 197.5m, largest market−19.4%
United KingdomCHF 164.7m, second market+46.1%
Eight monthscumulative, above CHF 17bn+1.7%

Source: Fédération de l'industrie horlogère suisse, August 2026 statistics, published 16 September 2026 · export prices, not retail sales

America fell, everyone else rose

The biggest market shrank. Exports to the United States fell 19.4% to CHF 197.5m in August, despite what the FH calls a favourable basis for comparison.

Europe carried it. The United Kingdom rose 46.1% and France 113.5%. Japan, China and Hong Kong all grew.

Main markets, August 2026CHF million, change year on year, share of the month's total
MarketCHF mChangeShare
United States197.5−19.4%11.0%
United Kingdom164.7+46.1%9.2%
France157.3+113.5%8.8%
Japan135.8+22.1%7.6%
China133.5+15.8%7.5%
Hong Kong117.6+1.4%6.6%
Total, six markets906.6+17.1%50.7%
Notes on this table

Source. FH's August 2026 press release, read in the federation's own PDF.

Carat Capital checked the shares. against the month's CHF 1,789.2m total: 197.5/1,789.2 = 11.04%, and 906.6/1,789.2 = 50.67%, both matching FH's printed 11.0% and 50.7%.

France's 113.5%. is the federation's own figure and it publishes no explanation for it; a base effect is likely and is not asserted here.

These are exports. , not sales to consumers.

The month bought a day

One extra day. August 2026 had one more working day than August 2025, which the FH states at the top of its release.

Volume matched value. Unit shipments of wristwatches rose 9.5%, an additional 95,000 watches in the month.

Gold-steel led the materials

Bimetal jumped. Gold-steel wristwatches rose 20.1% by value to CHF 355.3m. Precious metal rose 6.9% and steel 2.8%.

The middle sagged. By export price, only the CHF 500 to 3,000 band fell, down 0.9%. Watches over CHF 3,000 rose 10.2%.

The year turns positive

Eight months, plus 1.7%. The cumulative result for the first eight months stood at +1.7%, above CHF 17bn.

The average turns. The twelve-month moving average moved into positive territory for the first time in two years.

What to watch

  • 20 October 2026FH publishes September 2026 export statistics, its own next release date.
  • Q4 2026Whether the US decline persists through the holiday shipping months.
  • January 2027The full-year 2026 result against the +1.7% eight-month run rate.

The story so far

  1. Gold watches took 36.2% of July's export value on 2.4% of units
  2. Turkey rose 6.9% and America fell 14.8% in the month then reported
  3. June exports rose 11.2% year on year

Go deeper

What would change this call

A September figure showing the United States back in growth. One month of −19.4% against a favourable base is a data point; two would be a market.

What the FH counts, and what it does not

These figures are export declarations lodged with the Federal Customs Administration and valued at export prices, which is what a Swiss firm declares when the goods leave the country. They are not retail sales, not sell-through at a boutique, and not revenue recognised by a brand. Two consequences follow for a reader pricing inventory. First, a brand can push stock into a market without a customer having bought anything, so exports can rise while counters stay quiet. Second, the figures are consolidated across every Swiss watch firm, so no individual group's performance can be read out of them. The FH says so itself, and adds that the data can be revised, with the most recent publication prevailing.

Method

The FH's own August 2026 press release PDF was downloaded and parsed directly, along with the statistics landing page carrying the release sentence, rather than taken from a trade write-up. The 9.1%, CHF 1,789.2m, market table, materials table and price-band figures are all read out of that document. Carat Capital redid the two share calculations printed in Table I and both match the federation's figures to the decimal. Archive test, both periods named: this paper's most recent FH story, 20 August 2026, covers JULY 2026, where exports rose 9.6%. This item covers AUGUST 2026, where they rose 9.1%. Same source and same series, different reporting period, so ADVANCED rather than a repeat. Two earlier FH pieces cover June 2026 and a market breakdown published 9 August; neither carries an August 2026 figure. A grep of the archive for 9.1% returns zero hits.

Sources2
  1. Swiss watchmaking in August 2026, FH press release 16 September 2026
  2. Watch industry statistics, FH 16 September 2026