Demand for Luxury Watches in Asia Reaches Record High

By Monami Thakur | November 24 2011 4:40 AM

Exports of Swiss luxury watches, particularly in Asia, have reached an all-time high with China emerging as a major market for high-end products.

Reuters

China has surpassed the United States as the country exhibiting the highest demand for luxury watches, as per a survey released Wednesday.

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According to reports released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, Asia's demand for haute horologerie have increased drastically. In fact, in 2010, Asian countries accounted for more than half of the total Swiss watch exports.

Gold watches, in particular, witnessed strong demands with an upswing of over 30 percent. This alone accounted for more than half of the total increase. This was closely followed by bimetallic timepieces although there was a slagging demand for steel watches.

Hong Kong is leading the world market for Swiss watch exports. The United States lost ground in October while conforming to the global average for the January-October period.

The main European markets occupied the next three places. France registered renewed growth after two months of decline while Italy and Germany recorded very strong increases, giving a clear boost to their medium-term trend.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Swiss customs office mentioned that the sale of Swiss goods in Europe stagnated so far this year while in Asia they climbed more than 10% as Switzerland ran up a 19.3billion franc trade surplus with Asia, compared to an 18.2 billion franc deficit with its European neighbors.

The Swiss Watche Federation also mentioned that in Oct.2011, growth was more pronounced in the higher price segments.