40 Watch Market Statistics (2026): Prices, Exports and Brands

How much of the Swiss watch market is entry-level?

Use the period filter to compare annual observations or monthly releases. The two lower FH bands are combined below; the CSV retains every original price band.

31 published periods. Annual and monthly figures are separate observations.

Published quantities are rounded to thousands. Shares are calculated from those rounded quantities and shown to one decimal place. Historical years are the years FH publishes in this series; annual and monthly rows must not be added together.

• Watches in the two sub-CHF 500 export-price bands represented a calculated 69.3% of Swiss wristwatch export units in 2025. (FH, October 2026)
• The same two Swiss export-price bands generated a calculated 5.2% of wristwatch export value in 2025. (FH, October 2026)
• Swiss wristwatch export volume in the two sub-CHF 500 bands fell by a calculated 61.0% between 2000 and 2025. (FH, October 2026)
• The value of Swiss watch exports priced below CHF 500 increased 39.5% in September 2026 compared with September 2025. (FH, October 2026)
• Total Swiss watchmaking export value reached CHF 19.5 billion in January–September 2026, up 2.7% from the same period of 2025. (FH, October 2026)

How many watches do Japanese makers ship?

JCWA’s global operations measure includes production and shipments outside Japan. These are different populations from Swiss exports.

• Japanese watchmakers shipped 55.6 million completed watches worldwide in 2025, including overseas production. (JCWA, accessed October 2026)
• Japanese makers’ worldwide mechanical completed-watch shipments increased 19% by quantity in 2025. (JCWA, accessed October 2026)
• JCWA’s wider completed-watch-plus-movement measure reached 240.8 million units in 2025; this is not a finished-watch sales total. (JCWA, accessed October 2026)
• The United States received 17.0% of Swiss watchmaking export value in 2025, the largest destination share in FH’s annual release. (FH, January 2026)
• FH’s October 2026 revision records 14.594 million Swiss wristwatch export units for 2025, valued at CHF 24,408.1 million. (FH, October 2026)
• Electronic watches represented a calculated 64.3% of Swiss wristwatch export units but 14.4% of export value in 2025, using FH’s revised October 2026 totals. (FH, October 2026)

What do US price and company-sales sources report?

A consumer price index, a manufacturer’s sales and a wholesale channel measure answer different questions.

• US urban consumer watch prices rose 6.3% in the twelve months ending September 2026, before seasonal adjustment. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 2026)
• Movado Group’s US net sales increased 4.3% in the fiscal year ended January 2026; its portfolio includes watches and jewelry. (Movado Group, March 2026)
• The Movado brand’s wholesale sales grew 25% in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended January 2026. (Movado Group, March 2026)
• Fossil Group’s worldwide traditional-watch sales declined 7% at constant currency in fiscal 2025. (Fossil Group, March 2026)
• Fossil Group’s core-brand traditional-watch wholesale sales increased 2% worldwide at constant currency in fiscal 2025. (Fossil Group, March 2026)

What do Casio, Citizen and Seiko report?

Fiscal years end in March 2026. Sales include each company’s stated segment; the figures below are not an under-$1,000 market-size estimate.

• Casio’s Timepieces segment generated JPY 184,966 million in sales in the year ended March 2026. (Casio, May 2026)
• Timepieces accounted for 67.0% of Casio’s consolidated sales in the year ended March 2026. (Casio, May 2026)
• Citizen’s Watches segment sales grew 10.0% in the year ended March 2026; the segment includes watch movements. (Citizen, May 2026)
• Citizen’s Watches segment operating profit increased 38.1% in the year ended March 2026, with higher sales and a larger in-house e-commerce contribution. (Citizen, May 2026)
• Seiko’s watch-business sales excluding clocks were JPY 196.8 billion in the year ended March 2026; its presentation separately shows JPY 203.1 billion including clocks. (Seiko Group, June 2026)
• Seiko Global Brands accounted for approximately 75% of completed-watch net sales in both Japan and overseas markets in the year ended March 2026. (Seiko Group, June 2026)

How are watch-selling channels changing?

Manufacturer results describe that company’s business. HKTDC’s survey describes trade-fair participants’ expectations, not consumer ownership or market share.

• In its 2025 Watches & Jewelry review, Swatch Group reported an own-retail sales share of more than 47%. (Swatch Group, January 2026)
• Swatch Group’s online sales increased 30% at constant exchange rates in the first half of 2026. (Swatch Group, July 2026)
• In HKTDC’s 2024 watch-fair survey of 890 buyers and exhibitors, 44% expected growing demand from new markets to create business opportunities. (HKTDC, June 2025)
• Nearly 40% of respondents to HKTDC’s 2024 watch-fair survey identified the online market as a leading source of business leads. (HKTDC, June 2025)
• In HKTDC’s 2024 watch-fair survey, 40% of buyers and exhibitors expected smart watches to be the most popular product category in the coming year. (HKTDC, June 2025)

How do people choose and buy watches?

Deloitte’s 2025 study surveyed 6,500 consumers across Switzerland and major export markets. These are survey responses, not US sales shares or predictions of completed purchases.

• More than 60% of respondents to Deloitte’s 2025 global watch-consumer survey said they buy watches in stores. (Deloitte, October 2025)
• In Deloitte’s 2025 watch-consumer survey, 51% of respondents cited trying watches on as a main reason for shopping in stores. (Deloitte, October 2025)
• Deloitte’s 2025 global consumer findings reported that 72% of respondents planning a traditional-watch purchase intended it for their own use. (Deloitte, October 2025)
• Affordability motivated 53% of respondents considering pre-owned watches in Deloitte’s 2025 consumer findings. (Deloitte, October 2025)
• Deloitte’s 2025 consumer survey reported that 26% of global respondents wore purely traditional watches, compared with 30% wearing smartwatches. (Deloitte, October 2025)
• In Deloitte’s 2025 consumer survey, 54% of global respondents intended to buy a traditional watch within the next year. (Deloitte, October 2025)

How large is Japan’s domestic watch market?

JCWA estimates retail-market sales separately from Japanese manufacturers’ worldwide shipments. These populations must not be added together.

• JCWA estimated Japan’s 2025 completed-watch retail market at 17.7 million units, with a retail value equivalent to JPY 1.2919 trillion. (JCWA, accessed October 2026)
• Imported watches represented 87% of Japan’s estimated watch retail value but 64% of unit sales in 2025. (JCWA, accessed October 2026)

What do Swiss watch suppliers and employment figures show?

Employer census figures and Deloitte’s 2026 supplier survey describe different populations. They explain manufacturing conditions, not the reliability of any individual watch.

• The Swiss watch-industry employers’ September 2025 census counted 64,807 employees, a decline of 835 posts from September 2024. (Swiss Watch Industry Employers’ Association, December 2025)
• The Swiss watch-industry employers’ 2025 census counted 1,685 apprentices in the industry. (Swiss Watch Industry Employers’ Association, December 2025)
• More than 25% of Swiss watch companies were using short-time working measures at the end of November 2025, according to the employers’ association. (Swiss Watch Industry Employers’ Association, December 2025)
• In Deloitte’s 2026 consumer survey, 58% of respondents strongly or somewhat preferred Swiss Made watches. (Deloitte, September 2026)
• In Deloitte’s 2026 survey of watch-industry suppliers, 79% of respondents saw declining watch volumes as a major structural risk or pressure requiring higher-value positioning and innovation. (Deloitte, September 2026)

Methods and next review

We checked 52 candidate figures and kept 40 distinct findings. Repeated takeaways and individual table cells are not counted again. The price-band dataset combines FH’s two lower export-price categories for every period in its October 2026 release. It contains all 31 published periods, with the original bands in the CSV. Monetary values are nominal; shares use each period’s own totals.

Export prices, retail price changes, manufacturer sales and survey expectations remain separate. There is no currency conversion or estimate of the US under-$1,000 market. JCWA includes Japanese makers’ overseas operations. Company segments can include movements, clocks or jewelry as labelled; Seiko’s corrected June presentation is used. The HKTDC survey’s 2024 respondents are not a representative sample of watch owners. Deloitte’s studies are consumer and executive surveys, not sales censuses. Its 2026 supplier research surveyed 42 executives; the consumer sample exceeded 6,500. JCWA’s domestic retail-market figures are estimates. The Swiss employers’ census includes the covered watch and microtechnology industries.

Next data review: 19 November 2026, after FH’s next scheduled release; wider source review by 31 January 2027. Send corrections with the figure and original publication through our contact form. Our added calculations and compilation are available with credit under CC BY 4.0; original publishers retain rights in their material.