A free trade pact between China and Switzerland should boost watch brand sales in the world’s fastest growing market.

Switzerland is traditionally the home of the high-end watchmaking industry – and the Chinese already cannot buy enough of them.

The FTA will see Switzerland remove tariffs on almost all goods imported from China and China removing 84 per cent tariffs on imported Swiss goods.

And while luxury tariffs on luxury watches will remain, a special “watch memorandum” added to the agreement stipulates that they will be cut by 60 per cent over the next decade.

With the Sino-Swiss FTA taking effect and the development of China’s manufacturing industry and consuming capacity, the two countries have unprecedented opportunities in economic and trade cooperation benefitting the watch industry, especially.

“I believe that the Sino-Swiss FTA will provide us with a huge opportunity and Hublot will demonstrate greater strength under a more open, equal, matured and mutually beneficial market environment,” said Jean-Claude Biver, chairman of Hublot and president of the LVMH Group.