The downturn for Swiss watchmakers intensified in December, according to figures published Thursday by the Federation of the ...

The unveiling at Baselworld, the huge annual watch jamboree in the Swiss city of Basel, was the biggest celebrity event of the show. That it was for the launch of a smartwatch was also significant.

Behind pharmaceuticals and gold, watches are the third largest export to the U.S. Switzerland sells more than CHF 4 billion of watches to the U.S. every year or roughly 17% of total production.

Forty years after Japanese quartz watches brought the Swiss watch industry to its knees, the sector faces a new challenge in the “smartwatch”. The new products are booking record sales ...