Crackdown on fake Swiss watches bears fruit

Swiss watch manufacturers chalked up a number of successes in 2013, with 120,000 counterfeits intercepted in collaboration with the authorities, according to the Swiss News Agency.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) said the bulk of the seizures - around 90,000 items between January and November - took place in operations within Dubai, a primary hub for the counterfeit watch trade, with other raids taking place in Italy and Russia. In addition, around 700,000 counterfeit watch components were also intercepted during 2013.

In February, two Dubai warehouses were visited by police and 33,000 fake watches were seized in a single operation, "preventing serious economic loss to wholesalers," notes the FH. Prior operations have resulted in six convictions, with defendants ordered to serve prison sentences and authorisation given to destroy all confiscated items, it adds.

Counterfeiters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their ability to mimic even the most intricate of Swiss designs, with copies of watches sporting the prestigious tourbillon movement increasingly being found.

Meanwhile, the criminals involved in the trade are also starting to sell their knock-offs at or near the price of an original, making it harder to identify fakes and increasing financial losses for customers and the industry.

The FH said earlier this month that watch exports declined 0.5 per cent year-on-year in November to CHF 2.1bn ($2.35bn), a decline of 120,000 units in volume terms over the same period of 2012.