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Watch industry continues upwards trend

The Swiss watch industry continues to boom, with latest figures showing "a flying start to the new year".

The Swiss watch industry continues to boom, with latest figures showing “a flying start to the new year”.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry in Biel reports that exports soared to just under SFr751 million in February, a year-on-year rise of over 23 per cent.

“The euphoric period which began for the Swiss watch industry in September last year shows no sign of slowing down,” the Federation said in a statement.

The February figures helped to set a record for the first two months of the year at almost SFr1.375 billion, an increase of almost 18 per cent over the same period last year.

The Federation added that during the last two months, Swiss manufacturers exported 300,000 more watches than in 1999. Leading the field were steel and plastic, which have also increased in value terms, with gold and platinum following suit.

Only silver, plated and aluminium watches did not follow the trend.

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