Over the years, the annual Morgan Stanley X LuxeConsult ‘Swiss Watcher’ report has become a widely reported barometer for the overall state of the Swiss watch industry. Much of the report is the result of research and analysis collated by Oliver Müller, an analyst and consultant.

The Swatch Group has taken issue with the findings and methodology of the Ninth Annual Swiss Watcher, citing unreliable and unverifiable data, along with incorrect and negligent findings.

It is not particularly surprising that Swatch Group would take issue with several of the Morgan Stanley report findings, as some of the highlighted findings included Omega dropping its position in overall brand placement to down to number five. Additionally, the report asserts that Longines lost money in 2025.

Longines is one of the brand’s highlighted by the  Morgan Stanley & LuxeConsult report as losing money in 2025. The Swatch Group disputes that claim.

When it comes to the methodology used, the letter states: “The methodology appears designed to hide the poor data situation. This includes an abundance of unsubstantiated data, apparent inaccuracy such as the use of point values instead of ranges to create a false sense of precision, and plausibility checks that sometimes produce absurd results.”

Swatch Group go on to highlight the inaccuracies of the report’s data, citing “Actual turnover figures deviate on average by 24% from those presented in the research, with a range of -53% to +46% for individual brands. The inaccuracies are even more pronounced for unit sales, with an average deviation of 39%, ranging from -48% to +198%.” The Swatch Group specifically stated that Hamilton’s actual unit sales were three times higher than the Morgan Stanley report’s figures.

The letter continues to assert that the Morgan Stanley report is negligent and potentially damaging to trust in the Swatch Group, and notes that they are considering legal action. The Swatch Group notes that while Morgan Stanley discloses areas of potential conflict of interest, LuxeConsult does not.

Additionally, Swatch Group break down their assertions and backs them up with details. For example, in criticising the data used by the report, Swatch argues, “Breguet: Until 2023, the research’s estimates implied an average retail price of approximately CHF 15’000. When informed by Swatch Group that this was completely wrong, the figure was doubled to around CHF 32’500 in 2024. Yet the turnover estimate remained unchanged. To avoid acknowledging the earlier error, unit sales were simply more than halved from 20’000 to 7’400 – without any explanation. The same procedure was applied to Harry Winston in 2025.”

The Swatch Group noted that previously Breguet reporting in the Morgan Stanley report was inaccurate.

It’s worth noting that Morgan Stanley is not the only institution to publish this sort of information; Swiss finance firm Vontobel offers a similar industry report. Equally important is the fact that, with many of the major brands being privately held, or in the case of Swatch, reported as part of an aggregate portfolio rather than individual brands, analysis from the likes of Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult is the best tool we have for reporting on the overall industry.

You can read the Swatch Group’s Open Letter here.