The Swiss watch brand Swatch reacts to the US tariffs with a special edition. The clock alludes to the duty of 39 percent, which was imposed on Switzerland. Swatch promises to “hire the sale as soon as the USA change its tariffs”.
The well -known Swiss brand for colorful plastic clocks has released a model on which the digits are exchanged three and nine to form 39. The percentage is shown on the back.
The model was offered on the website for sale on Wednesday and will only be sold in Switzerland for CHF 139 (148 euros). “Hopefully only a limited edition,” says the photo of the model on the website.
“This advertising is to be understood as a positive provocation, a wink in the face of the current situation,” a spokesman for the Swatch Group told the AFP on Thursday. “As soon as the USA change its tariffs to Switzerland, we will stop selling this watch immediately.” He hoped that this provocation “will not take long, but will be as short as possible”.
Swatch is not the only watch brand that reacts with a wink. The Raymond Weil brand has also released a limited edition of one of its flagship models. This is produced in a number of 39 copies and in a format of 39 millimeters. It is offered with a discount of 39 percent compared to the usual price of this model and costs CHF 1,575.
The Geneva brand wants to react with humor to “a complicated situation” for the watch industry, “by saying that instead of adding 39 percent, one would rather deduct 39 percent from the price,” managing director Elie Bernheim told the AFP.
The 39 percent are a hard blow for the Swiss watch manufacturers. You have to produce your watches in the Alps to use the valuable “Made in Switzerland” label. The United States is its largest sales market and made almost 17 percent of Swiss watch exports in 2024.
Last week, the Swiss Minister of Economics Guy Parmelin traveled to Washington to meet Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick, Minister of Finance Scott Bessent and the trade officer Jamieson Greer. After returning to Switzerland, he spoke of “constructive conversations” without naming further details.
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