The market for connected watches in 2015 should be worth around $8.9 billion with 30 million smartwatches sold. Ninety brands are currently battling it out in a segment so far dominated by Samsung, pending Apple's results. Swiss fine watchmakers are unperturbed.

Vontobel's annual report on Swiss watchmaking is as eagerly awaited as "Le Messager Boiteux", the country's oldest almanac. As far as forecasts go, the private bank is predicting zero growth for the sector this year.

The number-one destination for Swiss watch exports is battling against the strong Swiss franc, falling tourism and China's economic slowdown. The Hong Kong watch federation has even written to Swiss manufacturers asking for a drop in prices.

After ten years' work, the reform of training in the watchmaking professions is all wrapped up. Much is riding on these changes for the industry, which can look forward to new training programmes, revised curricula and a simplified nomenclature, all designed to more closely match its needs.