Within the Jura city the place Georges Favre-Jacot based Zenith in 1865, the maker of probably the most vital actions in mechanical watch historical past — the El Primero — is getting ready for one of many greatest modifications in its historical past. In late October, the manufacture opened a employees session on what it described as a strategic repositioning. The define has since emerged by way of the Swiss press, with experiences suggesting the plan might have an effect on as much as 100 of roughly 200 roles on the Le Locle manufacture, plus round 100 extra in worldwide gross sales and distribution. Whereas the figures usually are not closing — given the session is anticipated to conclude this month — Zenith’s intention to maneuver upmarket has been made clear, with a brand new give attention to haute horlogerie strains comparable to its GPHG award-winning GFJ fashions, with the transition slated to be accomplished by 2029.
Zenith is however the newest in a sequence of watchmakers who’re additionally repositioning upmarket. Zenith’s Le Locle neighbours Montblanc introduced comparable plans this autumn, whereas Richemont accomplished the sale of Baume & Mercier to the Damiani Group to sharpen its give attention to its maisons which might be additional upmarket in July. Girard-Perregaux additionally introduced earlier in 2026 its plans to ascertain a presence upmarket, within the industrial-haute horlogerie phase.
Collectively, these strikes level to an {industry} stepping again from the phase that launched a era of consumers to Swiss watchmaking: mechanical watches priced within the low hundreds to round S$18,700 (CHF 12,000).
Whereas {industry} experiences have famous that shifts in demand and rising competitors from smartwatches have made the market extra advanced to navigate, the linked system being the rationale behind the slowly emptying center of the market is, on nearer inspection, the improper story.
Why the Case Towards the Center Does Not Maintain
The argument deserves a good listening to, given how smartwatches at the moment are a typical sight on hundreds of thousands of wrists. In Q2 2026, Huawei led world shipments with a file 22 per cent share, whereas Apple recorded the quickest YoY development at 14 per cent. The logic follows simply — a purchaser who as soon as saved for a mid-market Swiss mechanical watch now spends that cash on a tool that tracks sleep, takes calls and pays for espresso, all in a singular bundle. Theoretically, the mid-market watch is dropping its purpose to exist — squeezed between the system beneath and the luxurious trophy above — predicted by analysts when the Apple watch first arrived a decade in the past.
That mentioned, the predictions haven’t performed out in the way in which that analysts anticipated then. Whereas smartwatches have undeniably had an affect on the Swiss watchmaking {industry}, this has largely come on the backside of the market. Morningstar discovered that exports of watches retailing beneath S$1,277 (US$1,000) fell 23 per cent between 2015 and 2019, whereas the luxurious phase was largely unaffected — highlighting how a mechanical watch costing a number of thousand francs is a essentially completely different buy from a tool that’s changed each few years.
Moreover, the smartwatch market is dropping momentum: in accordance with Counterpoint Analysis, world shipments fell 4 per cent yr on yr within the second quarter of 2026, the primary decline in a yr, with CCS Perception additional forecasting a 4 per cent decline throughout the entire of 2026.
The info is telling — smartwatch house owners are holding onto their units for longer, as a result of new iterations don’t add sufficient new options to justify an improve. A class constructed on fixed renewal is operating into the boundaries of such a mannequin. Then again, the Swiss watchmaking {industry} as a complete is much from collapse. Exports rose 11.7 per cent YoY in September 2026 to S$3.48 billion (CHF 2.23 billion), and watches priced S$4,680 (CHF 3,000) or extra grew 9.9 per cent.
What the Mid-Market Nonetheless Provides
The bounds of the smartwatch market factors to the mid-market’s power: that it doesn’t want changing. A well-made mechanical watch could be serviced, repaired and worn for many years, and its worth isn’t contingent upon a software program replace or battery well being.
The watches themselves symbolize nice worth for the worth commanded. Longines’ new Hydroconquest begins at S$2,800 with 300m of water resistance and a 72-hour energy reserve; Tudor’s Pelagos FXD combines a titanium case with a COSC-certified chronometer motion from S$6,550; Frédérique Fixed now provides a perpetual calendar for underneath ~S$15,600 (CHF 10,000). Sometimes, watches with such options would price way more — exemplifying the substantial horological worth that mid-market watches provide, at a value that’s accessible to these starting their foray into gathering.
Moreover, mechanical watches possess a high quality no specification sheet can seize — a mid-market watch from, say, Zenith carries the identical time honoured heritage, craft and design language as the homes within the haute horlogerie phase, however at a value inside attain. For instance, the modern El Primero Chronomaster Unique nonetheless carries the identical high-frequency soul and aesthetic as its industry-saving predecessor, albeit with fashionable upgrades. For a lot of collectors, such watches symbolize the primary severe buy — the one which turns burgeoning curiosity right into a lifelong curiosity. A tool purchased for the performance of its options not often performs that function.
Therefore, smartwatches and mid-market timepieces usually are not essentially rivals in any respect — a smartwatch might measure a exercise, whereas a mechanical mid-market watch marks a primary essential step right into a interest that lasts a lifetime.
Nonetheless Ticking
Zenith’s repositioning is a enterprise choice formed by foreign money, commerce and value, and the model’s lengthy historical past suggests it can navigate the change fastidiously. However the story informed round it — that smartwatches are quietly retiring the accessible mechanical watch — doesn’t match the proof.
The smartwatch is a helpful system in a maturing market, however the mid-market watch is one thing else: a well-made object that may final a lifetime, and the place the place many collectors start. As extra manufactures look upward, people who keep within the center might discover they maintain extra worth than the narrative suggests.
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