54% for China, over 30% for Bangladesh, 20% agreed with the European Union, and 39% for Switzerland: tariffs have become one of the stylistic signatures of this presidential term of Trump. The Swiss watch industry, which has many loyal buyers in the United States, is feeling the impact. In 2024, the U.S. accounted for 16.8% of Swiss watch exports, worth approximately 4.4 billion Swiss francs—a figure Switzerland has now lost.

What if… Tariffs?, the special edition launched by Swatch, is a bold and very playful response to an economic struggle that often seems like a random succession of tax reforms, yet has a significant impact on both small and large companies. Not by chance, on the square-cased watch designed by the Bienne-based brand, the numbers 3 and 9 are swapped—a nod to the percentage of tariffs on Swiss exports. To make the statement even clearer, the percentage symbol is engraved on the back of the dial, and the watch is priced at exactly 139 Swiss francs. Swatch is selling it only in Switzerland, and demand has been so high that deliveries are currently delayed by up to two weeks.

Communication has always been at the heart of Swatch’s DNA. The brand was born during another pivotal moment in watchmaking—the 1970s Quartz Crisis—when low-cost Japanese watches threatened Switzerland’s centuries-old tradition. As we highlighted on Domus for the brand’s 40th anniversary, the Bienne company rose from the remnants of traditional craftsmanship to redefine the watch as a medium of culture, identity, and aesthetic provocation. Over the years, Swatch has collaborated with iconic artists and designers such as Keith Haring, Mimmo Paladino, and Alessandro Mendini—who served twice as editor of Domus between the 1970s and 2000s—as well as institutions including the MoMA in New York, the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou, and the Uffizi. Today, Swatch continues its independent spirit and refuses to collaborate with Trump.

Opening image: The What if... Swatch tariffs, 2025. Courtesy Swatch