Production of watches and jewelry in France exceeds its pre-pandemic level

The sector benefited from a turnover up by 32% compared to 2019 and strongly recruited.

The production of watches and jewelry exceeded its pre-pandemic level in France in 2021 with a turnover reaching 3.9 billion euros, an increase of 32% compared to 2019, according to the annual report of the sector.

“Both the Covid-19 crisis and the

conflict in Ukraine are there to remind us that nothing is ever certain and that everything can change at

any moment. However, the performance of the French watchmaking-jewelry industry in 2021 is remarkable and will go down in the annals”, indicates the professional committee Francexplosion which publishes this report.

The workforce in the sector is also on the rise with 12,700 people in production (+4% compared to 2019).

The French market saw sales growth of 2% compared to 2019, benefiting from the spending of households who could not make long trips or afford restaurants and outings due to health restrictions, according to the report.

SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN DISTANCE SELLING

This growth is benefiting commerce in the city center, whether at Place Vendôme or specialist retailers (+10% compared to 2019), distance selling (+23%) but also discounters (+ 14%).

The export market is back to its pre-pandemic level, driven by a very attractive Chinese market: in 2021, France will represent a quarter of Chinese imports of precious jewelery and it is China's leading supplier country for a total of 1.2 billion euros.

Overall, it is the jewelry sector that is experiencing the best growth with production of 3.5 billion euros (+36% compared to 2019). Most of its activity is carried out by jewelery in precious metals (3.2 billion euros, +40% compared to 2019).

French watchmaking production stabilized, at 341 million euros, down slightly by 2% compared to the level of 2019. Production is 80% exported. |