Zurich (Reuters) -The Horloger Switzerland Swatch has launched a special edition watch whose figures 3 and 9 on the dial are reversed, in allusion to the American customs duties of 39% imposed last month on Swiss imports.
These customs duties, among the highest imposed by the United States towards its business partners, were welcomed with stupor and dismay in Switzerland, one of the main producers of high-end watch.
The watch, which costs 139 Swiss francs (148.78 euros), was put on sale on Wednesday and is only available in Switzerland, a company spokesman said on Friday.
According to him, the watch is conceived as a “wink” and an alarm signal for the Swiss government, which has so far managed to obtain a reduction in customs duties.
This model is intended to be a limited edition, said Swatch.
“Because as soon as the United States modifies its customs duties for Switzerland, we will immediately stop selling this watch,” said the spokesperson, without specifying the number of copies sold but qualifying the “huge success” model.
Swatch indicated on its site that the delivery of the beige and blue watch could be delayed from one to two weeks due to high demand. The model is also sold in a dozen stores, including Zurich and Geneva airports.
(Written by Dave Graham, Elena Smirnova, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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