Sales of Swiss watches in China took a dive last month, leading an Asia-wide downturn for the industry, according to new data.

The Swiss watch industry saw a sharp decline in exports to Asia, which weighed heavily on its global performance data for the month, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Exports in the Swiss watch industry fell 9.3 per cent year-on-year to SFr1.9 billion ($1.96 billion) in July as sales in the main Asian markets saw a downturn of 21.4 per cent, overshadowing the mild upswing seen in Europe and North America.

In China, where the economy was rattled by sliding equities in July, demand for Swiss watches took a hit and exports to the country plunged 39.6 per cent. In fact, all eight leading Asian markets were down although the damage was more limited in Japan, which recorded a marginal 1.9 per cent dip. Exports to Hong Kong and South Korea dropped 28.7 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates saw a 29.8 per cent decline.

"The situation on other continents was better. The US maintained their cruising speed while growth in Europe continued to gather momentum, led by astonishing progress in France. Germany confirmed its gradual recovery but Italy suffered a temporary setback," said the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

Indeed, sales in Europe were more encouraging, particularly in France where exports rose 53.4 per cent. Germany recorded a modest 2.3 per cent climb while exports to Italy fell 11.6 per cent. The industry exported 4.7 per cent more to the US market.