The Swiss (or rather, Genevans) not only kept at the forefront of innovation, they were also good at commerce and this ability was backed by their banking system. From the beginning, production was export-orientated. A class of merchants developed who specialised in the watch trade, and who could report back on the tastes of different countries.

Starting in the 17th century, and growing in importance in the 18th and 19th centuries, Asia was an important market for Swiss clocks and watches. The Genevans started off in Constantinople (where Jean-Jacques Rousseau's father, Isaac, became official timer in charge of the clocks in the Topkapi Palace), and later expanded to China, where their wares became popular among the Qing dynasty aristocracy in the middle of the 18th century. Exports to China reached a peak in the decade 1810-20, to virtually collapse with the outbreak of the Opium War in 1839.

Watches were adapted to meet the needs and tastes of their customers. Watches with automata were particularly appreciated in Turkey and China, and many of them were given a specifically local touch for this market.

For the Chinese market clocks were made in pairs, probably because it was a Chinese custom to make gifts of two of any item. English merchants were also well aware of the practice, but the Genevans took it one step further, reversing the decoration on their pieces so that they mirrored each other.

In the 19th century they made "Rajah watches" for India, creating enamel portraits based on photographs sent to them for this purpose.

Not all clockmakers had happy experiences. Rudolf Stadler of Zurich, who worked for the King of Persia in the middle of the 17th century, was slandered by a local business rival and executed – something the king immediately regretted, especially since his watch soon stopped working and no-one could repair it. Stadler's tomb can still be seen in the Armenian cemetery in Isfahan. (The Armenians formed the native Christian community in Persia.)