As the world grapples with inflation and interest rate hikes this year, demand for high-priced Swiss watches has exploded. According to data from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS), watch exports from Switzerland increased by 12 percent in the first half of the year to 12.3 billion dollars (11.9 billion Swiss francs). Wristwatches accounted for 95 percent of exports, while the number of wristwatches exported in the first six months exceeded 225,000. The report also included the ranking of the 30 countries with the most Swiss watches. While the USA, China and Hong Kong ranked among the top 3 most exporting countries, the increase in Turkey caused a stir. Accordingly, watch exports from Switzerland to Turkey increased by 38.6 percent in the first six months of 2022, reaching 117.5 million dollars (112.9 million Swiss francs). Compared to the same period of 2020, the increase reached 142.6%.
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TURKEY Rank 21
According to the results of the first half of 2022, Turkey rose one step to rank 21 in the list of the top 30 countries to which Swiss watches are most exported. At the end of 2021, Turkey ranked 22nd with the purchase of watches worth 180 million dollars (173.1 million Swiss francs). Watch author Volkan Demirkuşak, who informed on this topic, said: “In the watch industry there are 4-5 year waiting times and long lists. Similar to the automotive industry, production declined due to supply issues in the watchmaking industry. In Turkey, the inability to find a sufficient number of new watches, especially in recent years, has almost pushed up the prices of used watches. Swiss watches that are already valuable have become more valuable. People started to see the watch as an investment tool in its own right. The rise in the prices of houses, cars and boats also contributed to the popularity of the watch as an alternative investment vehicle.
THE MOST KNOWN BRANDS
Today, more than half of the luxury watch brands are produced in Switzerland. Many brands such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, Cartier, TAG Heuer, Swatch, Longines, Breguet, IWC, Chopard carry the “Swiss” signature. The prices of some limited edition models from these brands sell for over hundreds of thousands of dollars. Watch exports also play an important role in the Swiss economy. So much so that in 2021 alone watch exports from Switzerland exceeded $21.5 billion (20.6 billion Swiss francs). On the other hand, the effects of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war also affected the Swiss watch industry. According to the FHS report, the turnover of the sector; Difficulties in the supply of raw materials, rising energy and transport costs and the lack of workers have all declined compared to previous years.
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“THINK LIKE HOME AND CAR”
Ramazan Kaya, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saat&Saat, said: “Valuable brands that have proven themselves like Swiss brands are also an investment vehicle. Because of this, some brands are particularly in demand if you look at it like a home or car investment.” Kaya said of the increase in demand in Turkey, “There are many parameters. Some of these reasons are that realized profits due to inflation are spent by households, individual investments in brands of value watches, investments are valued in foreign currency, and income earned at a certain level is spent. There is also the psychological dimension of the matter. For example, consumers with the “I can’t buy it again” psychology increase consumption as the exchange rate rises.
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ASIAN COUNTRIES BUY THE MOST
The FHS report states that the countries with the most hours in the first half of the year are Asian countries at 49 percent. Europe followed Asia with a share of 30 percent. In the US, it took third place in the overall market with 19 percent. Looking at the countries that buy the most Swiss watches, the US tops the list of 30 countries with $1.9 billion (1.8 billion Swiss francs). This country was followed by China with $1.1 billion, Hong Kong with $1 billion and Japan with $872 million. Turkey is number 21 on the list with 117.5 million dollars (112.9 francs). Israel is at the bottom of the list with $47 million.
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