Buying watches in Zurich
 

I heard about a watch fair to be held in Switzerland soon. Is it true?

Would you recommend to buy Swiss-made watches in Switzerland rather than in our Asian home countries?

Thanks.

I live in Switzlerand and bought my rolexes in Hong Kong when I was living there. They are about 15-25% cheaper in Hong Kong and there is no VAT or duty. I would buy them in Asia.

If you are thinking of buying in Switzlerland, do a lot of comparison shopping before you leave so you will know whether you are getting a bargain. Also there is VAT of about 7.5% on all purchases, which is refundable on purchases over CH400 or so.

I was under the impression that the watch fair is for wholesalers, not for retail purchases, much like the jewelery fair in Hong Kong each year

Thank you, Cicerone for your reply.

The thought of buying a watch in Switzerland came when I saw many more designs found in Europe (some are not available in Asia), and the winter sales seem to have started in Europe already.

How about buying branded handbags, then? My sister in law is keen to get one in Europe as she heard prices would be cheaper.

I agre that if you are looking for a specific watch style, your choice is probably better here. Tradeoff is that you may pay more for it. Do some reseach.

I can't imagine that genuine designer bags are cheaper here. I have not found that to be the case, I don't know where people get that idea. First there is the poor exchange rate, second the VAT, which is many countries is not refundable unless you purchase a large amount (in Switzlerand it is about US$300). Third, the cost of living is generally higher in Europe than in the US (except for some countries like Spain and Portugal.) Finally, the manufacturers and US retailers are savvy and would not sell things for much cheaper here than in the US.

I would do some research before leaving so you know exactly what you would pay in the US for the bag you want. If you find that after figuring in the exchange rate loss and any non-refundable VAT that a bag is cheaper here, then by all means buy it and let the rest of us know where you got it.

Sorry, you are in Asia, not the US. I did not find genuine designer bags to be any cheaper in HOng Kong than in Europe; the deals are on watches, etc not clothing. But do do some research.