PARIS — The Swatch Group and Japan’s Citizen Watch are being investigated in Italy over pricing practices.

According to the Italian Competition Authority (or AGCM), the watchmakers may be in violation of European Union regulations for imposing retail prices displayed online on authorized distributors.

The offices of the Italian branches of both watchmakers were inspected on Dec. 3 by the competition watchdog, assisted by the Special Antitrust Unit of the Italian financial police.

Citizen, which has the watch labels Citizen, Bulova, Vagary, Frédérique Constant and Alpina under its umbrella, “may be instructing its selective distribution network to follow imposed retail prices,” the Italian authority claimed.

The watchmaking group also “seems to be monitoring their pricing practices a

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