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Watches from Dubai or Abu Dhabi

RBrinsdon

RBrinsdon

pfm Member
Good morning,

Compared to the UK, are there BIG savings to be had by buying from the Malls or are the airport Duty Frees better?

Any serious downsides?

Thanks

Ron
 
A big downside would be the duty and VAT payable on entry to the uk, presuming it was something more than a Swatch.
 
The upside is availability: I bought my Explorer thanks to a good mate who was passing through Dubai airport on his way back to the UK from Thailand :)
 
Assuming everything is paid, that would be 20% VAT, and something like 4-5% duty, so you add around a quarter to the purchase price.
 
Swiss watches direct, or Watchfinder maybe if you don't mind pre-owned?
I've bought from Watchfinder 3 times now & I think they're service is very good & prices are fair if you know what you're looking for.
 
@RBrinsdon

You’d need to be armed with the exact model/s you’re after, and with the best prices available in the UK.

Anything in particular you’re after?
 
In my experience it’s as stated above: good for availability, less of an advantage on price. Recent sightings of Tudors suggest prices are better here than there, but “there” has the watches as opposed to waiting lists. YMMV with other brands.
 
The popular Rolex models are pretty much unavailable across the globe. Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore etc etc, airport duty free or high street or mall, they’re all empty. As soon as a desirable model appears in the window... whoosh, gone.
 
Save the vat and buy from heathrow on way out.

Less warranty challenges and no duty on the way back in.
 
Are Tannoy Westminster Royal SEs available in Dubai’s duty-free shops? I’d love a pair of those babies, though I think the difficult part would be constructing a believable story why you just happen to have a pair of them in your carry-on.

Joe
 
Accuphaseman said:
Could you not just wear it home .who's gonna know where it was purchased.
Click to expand...
I was going to say this, and if it was an everyday cheapish watch, say <£k with no real investment or resale value, I'd just wear it home and dump the boxes and paperwork and any other incriminating evidence. The problem is, if it's expensive like say a Rolex or Zenith or whatever, and you want to sell it later, buyers will want all the tags, boxes and paperwork, so you run the risk of Customs finding them if they search you. The way out of that is to plan ahead and get someone to post them on to you.
 
Joe P said:
Are Tannoy Westminster Royal SEs available in Dubai’s duty-free shops? I’d love a pair of those babies, though I think the difficult part would be constructing a believable story why you just happen to have a pair of them in your carry-on.

Joe
Click to expand...
Just say you were repatriating the ancestors who’d taken a musket ball during the first opium wars while serving in the army of the East India Company and you had to get some appropriate caskets made because the old ones had rotted after 250 years in the church yard at Palashi. An overzealous customs officer might ask where you were intending to plant them when you got home.
 
doctorf said:
I’ve no doubt you can buy them duty free on your way out, but you have to declare them on the way back in.
If that were not the case, it would allow evasion of VAT.
Click to expand...

Why? You are traveling outside EU.
doctorf said:
That sounds wrong.
If you don’t pay duty out, you surely have to pay it to get it back in?
Click to expand...

You can even buy on way out, collect on way home, or have it home delivered.
Effectively what they do is discount to the extend of the VAT, ergo tax free equivalent.
No Rolex this method for obvious reasons.
https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/shops-a-z/watches-of-switzerland
 
MikeMA said:
I was going to say this, and if it was an everyday cheapish watch, say <£k with no real investment or resale value, I'd just wear it home and dump the boxes and paperwork and any other incriminating evidence. The problem is, if it's expensive like say a Rolex or Zenith or whatever, and you want to sell it later, buyers will want all the tags, boxes and paperwork, so you run the risk of Customs finding them if they search you. The way out of that is to plan ahead and get someone to post them on to you.
Click to expand...

Post them home before you leave.
 
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