PARIS – The pendulum has swung back for Swiss watch exports in May after April’s surge fueled by U.S. tariff concerns.

Shipments of wristwatches fell 9.7 percent, coming just shy of 2 billion Swiss francs or $2.4 billion, and over 13 percent in units in the month, according to figures published Thursday by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Weighing heavily on the month’s tallies was the performance of the U.S., still the top market for Swiss timepieces.

Exports to the country slumped 25 percent year-on-year, and its share shrank to 12.8 percent. By comparison, it took a 16.8 percent slice of the overall market in 2024 and accounted for a third of watch exports in May.  

Fluctuations in American tariff policies may not be the only contributor to watch export woes.

Shipments to the top six markets – a group that includes China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the U.K. and account for nearly half of all exports – were down 16 percent overall.

For Japan, Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said the country’s 11 percent decline was reflected “gradual normalisation in inbound tourist flows from Chinese and Korean travellers and negative local demand.”

Big spenders have also been losing their appetite for luxury due to a combination of factors that include lingering economic uncertainty, U.S. president Donald Trump’s trade policy and yoyo-ing financial markets, according to a recent Bernstein report based on Agility’s latest research.

Bar the 500-to-3,000 Swiss francs category which remained flat in value despite a 4.3 percent slump in volume, all other price points and material categories were affected.