{"id":444,"date":"2015-04-19T00:38:33","date_gmt":"2015-04-19T00:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/listopedia-luxury-watch-shopping-destinations\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:20:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:20:35","slug":"listopedia-watch-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/listopedia-watch-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"Listopedia: Luxury Watch Shopping Destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I find it strange that consumers have no qualms paying the listed price for some retail goods and services, but not for others. We pay RRP for our clothes, our food, our dry cleaning and dining out, but somewhere along the way everybody decided watches (like new cars) were open to aggressive negotiation. This haggling trend, combined with the boom in online retailing has created healthy competition amongst retailers, and kept the manufacturers true to their pricing, thus creating a position of power for watch buyers. With so much choice, here are a few cities on my list of best destinations for watch shopping.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 1.5em;\">Modern Watches<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2>New York<\/h2>\n<p>The <a title=\"Expedia New York Travel Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/New-York.d178293.Destination-Travel-Guides?brandcid=blog.article.listopedia.watchstores_200415\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Big Apple\u2019s<\/a> size, money, multiple manufactures and plenty of modern and vintage retailers, dealers and auction houses means the selection is as about as good as you can find anywhere in the world. Alongside Flagship retail stores from the likes of Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Panerai and Omega are mega retailers like Tourneau Time Machine (go here for an unmatched selection of brands), Motion In Time or Wempe Jewellers (stocking some of the most expensive watches in the world). Those searching for the finest vintage watches should check out the Aaron Faber Gallery, link up with some of the world\u2019s best dealers including Andrew Shear of Sheartime, or align their trip with an upcoming auction at Antiquorum, Bonhams or Christie\u2019s.<\/p>\n<h2>Singapore<\/h2>\n<p><a title=\"Expedia Singapore Travel Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Singapore.d180027.Destination-Travel-Guides?brandcid=blog.article.listopedia.watchstores_200415\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Singapore<\/a> has become an undisputed mecca of watch retailing in the last decade and I think the majority of it can be attributed to the strength of the Chinese market. With the super wealthy now flocking to Singapore to benefit from the country\u2019s attractive taxes, the luxury retail industry has boomed. The very best in haute horology can be acquired at countless locations, from the impressive mall networks to individual hotels &#8211; the Marina Bay Sands has roughly 30 retailers alone including Richard Mille and Roger Dubuis. The Hour Glass, Asia\u2019s leading luxury watch retailer, has multiple boutiques throughout the city, my favourite being the stunning &#8216;More Passion\u2019 in Paragon Shopping Centre. Knowledgeable buyers can also head to Lucky Plaza, Republic Plaza or People\u2019s Park Complex to window shop a plethora of independent stores selling new and second hand watches. Successful shoppers can also take advantage of Singapore\u2019s Tourist Refund Scheme returning roughly 5.5% of the 7% consumption tax after commission.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/4_2015\/9220_48_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>London<\/h2>\n<p>Walking down Bond Street dressed to impress is a quintessential London experience, regardless of your desire to shop or not. Being a keen shopper looking for a new timepiece is an added bonus. Along New and Old Bond streets you\u2019ll find an array of brand specific stores such as Rolex, Hublot, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Cartier and Piaget. This famous stretch is also home to the Kronometry 1999 group\u2019s largest store, stocking a more boutique selection of brands like De Bethune, DeWitt, Hautlence, and HYT. The real highlight of the strip however is Marcus Watches, which at any one time might house the most impressive (and expensive) selection of timepieces in the world. Serious buyers will travel from all corners of the globe to see highly complicated pieces from Greubel Forsey, Urwerk and Audemars Piguet as well as an entire floor dedicated to the AP brand. Don\u2019t expect a bargain at any of these stores but remember you can claim the 20% VAT when you leave!<\/p>\n<h2>Dubai<\/h2>\n<p>I had to include\u00a0<a title=\"Expedia Dubai Travel Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Dubai.d1079.Destination-Travel-Guides?brandcid=blog.article.listopedia.watchstores_200415\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dubai<\/a>\u00a0in this list because I was blown away by the offering at the famous Dubai Mall when I was there last year. A football field sized area of the mall accommodates absolutely every brand you can imagine, it\u2019s not even worth me listing them all \u2013 there\u2019s even a Glashutte Original boutique. Each boutique is allocated a selection of the brand\u2019s rarest pieces to cater for a market where image is everything. While in store at A.Lange &amp; Sohne, I was shown a Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar Terraluna, one of a small handful worldwide and in Audemars Piguet I was invited to try on the Platinum Royal Oak Offshore, one of ten ever made. I must say I was just as impressed when I walked into the Panerai boutique and queried as to whether they had a PAM0000 in stock, the brand\u2019s highly sought after entry level Luminor model. To my surprise, they did.<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/4_2015\/9220_49_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>Vintage Watches<\/h2>\n<h2>Hong Kong<\/h2>\n<p>Once upon a time Hong Kong used to be the \u2018go to\u2019 place for watches. Today it\u2019s rather expensive and not a place I\u2019d prioritise when shopping for modern watches. But, if you\u2019re a fan of vintage watches, in particularly Rolex and Panerai, a trip to The Vintage Concept is an absolute must for a serious range of Milsubs and Daytonas.<\/p>\n<h2>Rome<\/h2>\n<p>The city of\u00a0<a title=\"Expedia Rome Travel Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Rome.d179899.Destination-Travel-Guides?brandcid=blog.article.listopedia.watchstores_200415\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rome<\/a>\u00a0is historically significant for many reasons, and watches just happen to be one of them. While there\u2019s no harm exploring the stores in the Spanish Steps area (Hausmann &amp; Co. is particularly good) my two highlights are undoubtedly Only Vintage and Watches in Rome, where you will find some of the world\u2019s finest examples of vintage Patek Philippe and Rolex.<\/p>\n<h2>San Francisco<\/h2>\n<p>Whilst San Francisco doesn\u2019t present as many options as NYC\u2019s vintage watch scene, I thought it was worth mentioning two dealers based in the city. The first is Eric Ku from 10 Past Ten who is recognised as an expert in the Vintage Rolex game. The second is the team at HQ Milton \u2013 Scott Kaplan and Jacek Kozubek have built a dedicated and trusting client base on the Rolex Forums and in their showroom.<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/4_2015\/9220_47_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>Geneva<\/h2>\n<p>I couldn\u2019t leave Geneva off this list. Whilst I wouldn\u2019t recommend Australians going to\u00a0<a title=\"Expedia Geneva Travel Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Geneva-Hotels.d180003.Travel-Guide-Hotels?brandcid=blog.article.listopedia.watchstores_200415\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geneva<\/a>\u00a0to buy watches, not since the cap was lifted off the Swiss Franc, I can&#8217;t deny one of my bucket list experiences is travelling there and buying a watch at one of the Important Watch auctions at Phillips, Christie\u2019s or Sotheby\u2019s. It doesn&#8217;t get any better than the selection offered by these auction houses in the city so intrinsically linked to watchmaking.<\/p>\n<h2>Apple Watch<\/h2>\n<p>For the technically minded watch fans I thought it was worth noting that the Apple Watch will be available to buy in multiple countries on April 24. Expedia will be one of the first apps users can experience providing travellers with quick access to important travel information on the go. Smart watches were a big feature at Baselworld this year with a handful of brands announcing tech partnerships and models for the future. It\u2019s clear the Smartwatch is here to stay and while I\u2019m yet to get my hands on the Watch, I can&#8217;t deny its sheer functionality, especially for travelling.<\/p>\n<p><i>Expedia compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site, such compensation may include travel and other costs<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are a few cities on my list of Best Watch Shopping Destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,6,28,2,3,14,7,74],"tags":[186],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia","category-destination","category-europe","category-experiences","category-explore","category-interests","category-oceania","category-shopping","tag-listopedia","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - 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