Not a day goes by without someone asking me how Swiss watchmaking is doing. If the question is legitimate in these troubled times, for the answer, we will have to settle for nuances. Because there is not one watchmaker, but watchmakers. Switzerland has several hundred active brands, each following its own path. The responses to market demands are contrasting to say the least. Some workshops have decades of orders ahead of them while others are drowning in unsold goods.
However, the year 2025 was for everyone an exercise in managing uncertainties. A business climate which sometimes reserves pleasant surprises, because the watch remains a very emotional product. But in broad terms, this type of context leads to a winner’s bonus: the biggest strengthen themselves and gain market share while the others lose out.
