Despite a horological industry embroiled in tariff whiplash and skyrocketing gold prices, Watches of Switzerland had a strong first half of the year.
The luxury timepiece retailer saw a 15 percent increase in U.S. sales through the first six months of 2025, a new report from the company says. Watches of Switzerland sales Stateside generated around $546 million (£409 million) through October 26, up from 2024’s nearly $475 million (£355 million), in a figure that shows tariffs have done little to diminish the demand for luxury watches at the store, according to Reuters.
America, as it turns out, is one of the retailer’s largest revenue sources, with the U.S. making up around 60 percent of profits for the company.
For the unversed, the Swiss watch world has had quite the turbulent year. The U.S. announced that Switzerland would be smacked with a 39 percent tax on all goods in August, up from a previously stated 31 percent earlier in the year, leaving the rattled horological community bracing for impact. Then, November arrived, and with it came news of a new U.S. trade deal that placed only a 15 percent levy on Swiss exports, a similar figure to other European nations that gave the industry a bit of relief.
For its part, Watches of Switzerland (seller of Swiss brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, and more) did not see a drastic change in consumers’ buying habits when the initial levies came to fruition, according to Reuters. Company CEO Brian Duffy said the brand welcomes the recent tariff reduction, as you’d expect, and that U.S. sales stayed robust over the first half of the year, Bloomberg reported. Softening the blow of tariffs announcements was Watches of Switzerland’s stockpile of inventory from brand partners, which helped to protect it from any levy fallout.
As for the U.K., where Watches of Switzerland is the largest authorized seller of pieces from Rolex, the brand’s sales there were strong as well, despite what it called a “challenging market,” according to Bloomberg. The U.K. recently became the top market for Swiss watches, with exports growing 15.2 percent to 173.3 million francs (about $218 million) in September, according to a recent report by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. The nation ousted the U.S. from the top slot, and it seems like we’ll have to wait and see if America regains its spot at the top.
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