The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) destroyed 1.5 tonnes of counterfeit watches in Köniz, near Bern, on Friday, including around 7,500 fake “Swiss” timepieces. Most of the counterfeits originated from China. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The fake watches were confiscated by Swiss customs between 2019 and 2025 as they entered the country. The operation is one of the largest ever carried out by the FH. As well as having a negative impact on the environment, the FH points out that buying counterfeit products is unethical. What's more, such consumption "directly supports criminal organisations". In addition, around 75% of these customs seizures come from postal consignments, a predominance that reflects the explosion of online commerce in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. + Hundreds of Swiss luxury watches vanish in Japan Small parcels The widespread use of small parcels to evade detection, reduce the risk of interception ...
