Watch industry exports continued to gain ground in March, but at a rather slower pace than in the two previous months. They were worth 1.7 billion francs, 4.8% higher than in March 2017. The first quarter accordingly ended with an advance of 10.1%, the highest quarterly growth rate since June 2012. Hong Kong (+10.2%) has been reporting sustained and uninterrupted growth for nearly one year. The United States (+4.1%) posted a second month with a gain. Penalized by an unfavourable base effect, China (-6.9%) reported its first fall in 18 months. The recovery in Japan was confirmed again in March (+13.3%).

Swiss brand teams up with Chinese online retail giant to sell its timepieces using e-store via mainland’s WeChat social media platform. The online retail giant JD.com is providing the technical support for the watchmaker’s WeChat e-store. The collaboration between the two companies marks Audemars Piguet’s first foray into e-commerce. The pop-up is rendered in the form of a mini program located below Audemars Piguet’s official WeChat account.

French companies LVMH, Kering and Hermes International, along with Switzerland’s Richemont, had collectively amassed a 17.4-billion-euro ($21.5 billion) cash pile by the end of 2017. More is rolling in, as sales boom in China and a new generation of designers creates buzz with younger shoppers. Beginning of April, LVMH reported that first-quarter organic sales surged a greater-than-expected 13 percent. For Europe’s luxury giants, it’s a nice dilemma to have: What to do with all that cash!

WatchBox, the global e-commerce platform for pre-owned watches announces a global partnership with Revolution Media, the publisher of Revolution Magazine, in a venture to accelerate the global demand for pre-owned watches. The partnership allows readers immediate access to purchase watches featured on Revolution. Readers can also sell or trade their existing watches through Revolution’s website or app.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s leading high quality products group, recorded revenue of 10.9 billion Euros for the first quarter 2018, an increase of 10%. Organic growth was 13% compared to the same period of 2017, an increase to which all business groups contributed. In the first quarter of 2018, the Watches & Jewelry business group recorded organic revenue growth of 20%.

Prior to the start of Baselworld, the Richemont-owned brand IWC announced its launch of an online customization tool that allows customers to create their own versions of the Ingenieur chronograph and then order those watches directly. This comes less than a year after IWC launched its latest U.S. website, complete with an e-commerce boutique. And, while for now the tool is limited to the single model – the Ingenieur Chronograph – the idea is to be pushed further in the future. Today is almost certainly just the beginning.

After introducing Fairmined gold in 2013, Chopard has announced a new step forward in its commitment to sustainable and ethical luxury. Starting from July, it will use Ethical Gold, defined as gold acquired from sources that are verified as meeting international best practice environmental and social standards, for 100% of its watches and jewellery. The gold’s traceability will be certified by the Swiss Better Gold Association and the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody.

The strong growth of watch industry exports reported in January was confirmed – and even bettered in February. Their value reached 1.7 billion francs, an increase of 12.9 % on the February 2017 figure. Growth extended to all price segments led by watches priced at between 500 and 3,000 francs (export price) whose value was up by 19.3%. Timepieces priced at over 3,000 francs (+12.9%) fell within the average range. Products costing less than 200 francs achieved 7.8% growth after falling sharply for more than one year. The three leading markets for Swiss watch industry exports reported much stronger growth than the global average. Hong Kong (+35.7%) and the United States (+26.3%) saw their strongest monthly advance for six years. China (+21.7%) also exceeded the 20% growth mark after +44.3% in January despite an unfavourable base effect.

To commemorate the occasion, Swatch is collaborating with Italian artist and filmmaker Ugo Nespolo to release a special limited edition, the Swatch Ugo Art Special 35th Anniversary watch. Although most people know Swatch as a purveyor of trendy and inexpensive Swiss-made analog quartz watches, most watch lovers know it as something more. We know it as one of the saviors of the Swiss watchmaking industry. Founded in 1983, Swatch was created as a response to the quartz crisis. It was analog, it was trendy, but most importantly, it was made in Switzerland.