Ahead of President Trump’s looming tariffs on Switzerland, watchmakers and retailers alike are clamoring to get their hands on timepieces. 1.3 million Swiss watches left the European country in April, totaling $3 billion (2.5 billion Swiss francs). That’s an 18 percent increase from the same time last year, according to the Federation of Swiss Watch Industry’s latest data, Bloomberg reported. The U.S. was the main driver of the surge, making up 33 percent of the market. Exports stateside skyrocketed 149 percent year-over-year to hit a total of $851.9 million—a figure that’s equivalent to around a fifth of 2024’s total exports to the United States. In particular, timepieces made from precious metals, steel, and bimetallic materials, saw the biggest increases. The drastic jump seen in April is the “result of early shipments prompted by the announcement of U.S. tariffs,” Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at investment firm Vontobel, told Bloomberg. The hike is likely a direct..
