Swiss watches
 

We are headed to Geneva and happen to be looking for a watch. We live in London, so prices are considerably more than in the States. Has anyone shopped for watches in Switzerland? Anyone know if the prices are relatively better than elsewhere?

Amy,<BR><BR>Luxury watches (5'000 Sfr. and higher... much higher) are definitely a "good" deal in Geneva - the prices are somewhat lower than elsewhere and the selection is simply unbeatable. The jewelery stores will generally give you a discount (about 10%) if you pay cash vs. credit card and you get a VAT refund (7,6% minus processing fees) if you live abroad.<BR><BR>The watch & jewelery stores are clustered on the rue du Rh&ocirc;ne and to a lesser extent on the parallel rue de la Conf&eacute;d&eacute;ration. 2 stores with a broad selection of brands are Les Ambassadeurs (r. due Rh&ocirc;ne) and Clarence (r. de la Conf&eacute;d&eacute;ration).<BR><BR>Happy shopping!<BR>Andre

A number of years ago I got my first Swiss watch in Interlaken. It is a Bucherer and it is still one of my favorites and better quality. Since then I receive their catalog and look at their on-line store--bucherer.com. I faxed my Christmas order and a week later it arrived in perfect condition. For the quality and price, I recommend Bucherer.

I too purchased a Bucherer in Interlaken in 1998. It is not the name of a Rolex, but I have been very pleased with the styling and the quality. With the price of gold it is amazing that Rolex can use $200 worth of gold to convince you the watch is worth $5000+.

Bob,<BR><BR>It's got to be the marketing. I bought a Raymond Weil Parsifal in Florence for about $600 US and love it...cannot imagine paying $5000 for the Rolex, although a couple of my friends have them. <BR><BR>I personally, think they look gaudy, but to each his own!