The new US-Switzerland tariff deal removes one of the biggest friction points in cross-Atlantic watch buying. The previous tariff structure on Swiss watches imported into the United States — varying by category but generally adding meaningful cost to high-end Swiss watch purchases routed through US distributors — had been one of the consistent friction points in cross-border serious collecting. The 2025 trade agreement substantially reduces that friction, and the practical effect for collectors is meaningful: pricing parity between Swiss and US boutique purchases, simpler grey-market authentication arbitrage, and reduced friction on cross-border vintage transactions.
What actually changed
The 2025 US-Switzerland trade agreement restructured the tariff schedule on Swiss-made watches imported into the United States. The headline changes affect the duty structure on watches above the $5,000 retail threshold, with the upper-tier Swiss watches now entering the US under substantially reduced duty rates. The practical effect is that Swiss boutique pricing in the US is now closer to the European boutique pricing on the same references; the gap that previously existed has narrowed substantially.
What this means for buyers
Three things. First, US-based collectors have meaningfully better access to Swiss watches at boutique pricing close to European retail. The arbitrage opportunity that previously rewarded buying in Europe and importing has narrowed; for most buyers the practical decision becomes about boutique relationships rather than about cross-border pricing.
Second, the cross-border secondary market is more efficient. The previous tariff friction had distorted secondary-market pricing for vintage Swiss watches between US and European markets; the post-deal pricing convergence makes the secondary market more uniform globally.
Third, the authorised-dealer network in the US is more competitive against the broader specialist-dealer infrastructure. The pricing parity removes one of the structural reasons buyers had previously preferred European or grey-market purchases over US boutique acquisitions.
What collectors actually do with this
For collectors building boutique relationships, the deal makes the US-based boutique route meaningfully more attractive than it had been. The European boutique pricing advantage is reduced; the convenience of US-based service-network access remains. For collectors active in the cross-border secondary market, the deal reduces the friction on importing vintage and pre-owned pieces, though authentication discipline and import-documentation work remain unchanged.
The longer story collectors recognise is that the deal represents a structural improvement in the cross-Atlantic watch market that should hold for the foreseeable horizon. The collectors who navigate the new pricing landscape well tend to be the ones building genuine boutique relationships rather than chasing the marginal grey-market arbitrage that the previous tariff structure had supported.
Stefanos Moschopoulos
Stefanos Moschopoulos founded The Luxury Playbook in Athens and has spent the better part of a decade following the auction calendar, the en primeur releases, and the watchmakers, gallerists, and shipyards the magazine covers. He writes the field guides and listicles that anchor the Connoisseur section — pieces built on Phillips and Christie's results, Liv-ex movements, and conversations with collectors he has met across Geneva, Bordeaux, Basel, and Monaco. His own collecting habits sit closer to watches and wine than art, and it shows in the level of detail in the magazine's coverage of those categories. Under his direction, The Luxury Playbook now publishes long-form field guides, market-defining year-end listicles, and the Voices interview series with the founders behind the houses and the brands.
