Franck Muller, the Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in Geneva in 1991, counts India among its five largest markets by volume, and its regional chief expects the market to keep growing. Erol Baliyan, the company’s chief executive for the Middle East, Africa and India, told Mint that rising incomes and new buying habits are lifting demand for high-end watches.
Swiss Watches Grow 29 percent!
The numbers support him. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Swiss watch exports to India rose 29% in the first nine months of 2026, to more than $320 million at current exchange rates. India has moved up to fourteenth place among the export markets for Swiss watches, from twentieth in 2025. Exports to China fell 6% and exports to the United States fell 4% over the same period. Baliyan told The Economic Times that India could rank seventh or eighth next year, and called it “the rising star in the watch industry.”
Swiss watch exports to India and Franck Muller’s India-only limited edition.
A three-decade presence, now with a new product push
Franck Muller has sold watches in India for roughly three decades through a local retail partnership. In northern India its retail partner is Kapoor Watch Company. This week the two companies unveiled the Vanguard “Ram Lalla” limited edition in Delhi, in northern India. The collection has 108 pieces, made only for India and priced from $31,700. Baliyan said the company’s India strategy rests on culture, tradition and religion, and that it has also launched a collection for sports fans.
The company also plans to open a presence at an airport, starting with Mumbai, in western India, to reach more affluent shoppers. Baliyan said the company is considering celebrity partnerships as well. Baliyan said the company will announce its first real estate project in India within a month, part of its work with developers on ultra-luxury branded residences.
A market still building depth
Baliyan said most buyers in India purchase watches priced between $12,000 and $24,000, and that the market for watches above $52,800 is still narrow. He said this reflects how young the luxury market is, not a lack of wealthy buyers. He added that more shoppers now prefer to buy at home rather than arrange payment and transport from abroad.
He also said the gradual cut in import duties under trade agreements between Europe and India should make the country more attractive to international brands by lowering costs and encouraging investment. “I’m quite confident about the next five years for Swiss watch growth in India,” he said. He also cautioned that growth will not match earlier years: “There will be no exponential growth like there was in previous years.”
Why this matters
Swiss watch exports to India grew while shipments to China and the United States shrank. A European luxury brand with three decades in India is adding products, retail space and possibly real estate to its plans there. For American consumer and luxury companies, the figures show a market where demand for premium goods is growing faster than in the two largest established markets.
