Weer even On Topic, opnieuw een apocalyptisch artikel over de mogelijke teloorgang van (een deel van) de huidige horloge industrie.
Eindigend met een sprankje hoop:
“But one of the most important lessons from the first quartz crisis is that the mechanical watch industry is capable of surprising innovations which serve as a bridge to the future. We have every reason to believe the second quartz crisis will unfold in a similar manner”
Source: author’s calculations and Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
But a new pattern emerged in 2019: exports of watches priced CHF 3000 and over increased while the CHF 500-3000 segment declined. In fact, the “Omega, Tudor and above” segment expanded five times more quickly than the “Oris, TAG Heuer and below” segment. There is a real possibility that, increasingly, the Swiss watch game is all about the very top tier of watchmaking.
Precious metal watches contributed significantly to the monthly result, while steel products saw a downturn. The number of items exported continued on a marked downward trend. With 180,000 fewer watches exported in December, the figure for the year was an overall decline of over three million items.
