Buying a Rolex is an odd experience. Choose nearly any model on display at one of the Swiss watchmaker’s authorised dealers(授权经销商) and you will be told that, unfortunately, it is unavailable at this time. Should you still wish to part with(交出、舍弃（钱财）) SFr14,000 ($16,800)—the average retail price of a Rolex—you will have to join a waiting list.
买一块劳力士是一种奇特的体验。在瑞士制表商的授权经销商那里，你几乎挑中任何一款展示的手表，都会被告知：很遗憾，这款目前没有货。如果你仍然愿意掏出1.4万瑞士法郎（约合1.68万美元）——劳力士的平均零售价——那你还得先排上等候名单。
Thousands do so every day. Rolex sold almost 1.2m watches last year, bringing in revenue of more than SFr11bn, up from around SFr8bn in the early 2020s, thanks to higher prices (volume barely increased). For much of the Swiss watch industry, the clock is ticking(时间紧迫、所剩无几). Over the past decade the volume of exports (which make up 95% of sales) has fallen by half (see chart). Sales of quartz timepieces, which use electronic rather than mechanical movements, have been hit particularly hard by the rise of smart watches, most of which are made in Asia.(石英表的销售受到智能手表崛起的沉重打击，而智能手表大多产自亚洲。) But for Rolex and a few other luxury watchmakers, times are better than ever.
每天都有成千上万人这么做。劳力士去年售出近120万块手表，营收超过110亿瑞士法郎，较2020年代初的约80亿瑞郎大幅增长，这主要归功于价格上涨（销量几乎没有增加）。对瑞士钟表业的许多企业来说，时间正在流逝。过去十年间，出口量（占销售额的95%）已腰斩（见图表）。石英表使用电子机芯而非机械机芯，其销售受到智能手表崛起的沉重打击，而智能手表大多产自亚洲。但对劳力士和其他少数奢侈腕表制造商而言，日子比以往任何时候都好。
Even as the volume of exports has tumbled(暴跌、大幅下滑), their value has continued to rise. In August it was 9.1% higher than a year earlier, the fourth year-on-year(同比) rise in as many months. Switzerland is home to around 450 brands. But last year just five of the poshest(最高档的、最奢华的)—Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Omega and Audemars Piguet—captured(占据、攫取) 60% of revenue. All bar Omega(除欧米茄外全部) have been gaining share. The very top end has been especially strong. In 2025 watches costing more than SFr50,000 accounted for 37% of the value of Swiss watch exports, up from 33.5% in 2024. That partly reflects rising precious-metals prices, but also the rude financial health of the very rich and their demand for something special.(这在一定程度上反映了贵金属价格的上涨，但也体现了超级富豪们雄厚的财力以及他们对独特之物的追求。)
尽管出口量大幅下滑，出口额却持续攀升。8月份的出口额同比增长9.1%，是连续第四个月实现同比增长。瑞士拥有约450个钟表品牌。但去年，仅五个最高端的品牌——劳力士、卡地亚、百达翡丽、欧米茄和爱彼——就占据了60%的营收。除欧米茄外，其余四个品牌的市场份额都在扩大。超高端市场表现尤为强劲。2025年，售价超过5万瑞郎的手表占瑞士手表出口额的37%，高于2024年的33.5%。这在一定程度上反映了贵金属价格的上涨，但也体现了超级富豪们雄厚的财力以及他们对独特之物的追求。