PARIS – While Switzerland is still reeling from the 39 percent tariff announced by the U.S. on July 31, July figures show Swiss watchmakers and their clients anticipated the bad news as watch exports ticked upwards in July.

A total of nearly 2.4 billion Swiss francs’ worth of wristwatches left the country during the month, amounting to an 6.9 percent year-on-year growth, according to figures published Thursday by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry .

The gains came mainly from exports to the U.S. Without their impact, the overall tally would have been down 0.9 percent, the industry body said.

“In reality, this was a move to build up local stocks and provides little insight into the actual state of the market,” it added.

Still the largest watch market by size, the U.S. account

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