I'm supposed to choose a birthday present and I'm clueless. Help.
Which mid-price brands produce good and stylish women's watches, please?
Define "mid-price"... that can mean a lot when it comes to Swiss watches...
OK, you got a point. Say, between CHF200 and CHF900.
(As you can see, I'm a very thrifty spouse.)
Tissot are brilliant, beautiful and reliable. And mid-price (around Sfr 500 - ish)
Also Certina, CK, D&G have very good womens watches for your price range.. Happy shopping..
I received a Certina and find it beautiful
One good advice. Always go to Manor and COOP and check there watch sales counters. They sometimes have offers going on. Might be able to pick up a good watch at a low price
Is it possible to get a good deal on a Swiss watch inside Switzerland? For a lot of luxury goods and electronics it is cheaper to order from abroad and pay the import VAT. Is this true for Swiss watches as well?
My brother in law saw a watch he liked here and bought it back home in Canada for much cheaper. I don't know about importing though.
In this price bracket it is possible to buy a watch made by a real Swiss watch company - Oris, Tissot, Certina etc. Most of these Companies are owned by large groups but they still have a traditional Swiss watchmaking background.
It is perhaps better not to buy a watch made by a perfume manufacturer/handbag maker etc.
FYI and going slightly off topic (c; I've been 'stung' by this a couple of times, but it ends up being cheaper in the long run anywaz.
VAT here is 7.6% on pretty much everything, but where you get stung is the overhead charge for them i.e. POST &/or the customs guys having to look at you parcel has it arrives. That will set you back 18CHF plus the additional 7.6% and some weird exchange rate I have never figured out. If they don't believe the description on the invoice for the parcel and actually open it they'll slap another 6CHF on top of that.
There appears to be a threshold about 100CHF where they don't care unless it looks suspicious. Books seem to raise very few issues, DVDs more. If you haven't guessed, that would be amazon buying. But it still holds for other purchases i have made.
HTH, bill
Well... as an alternative.. go on ebay.. search for solid gold ladies (sic) watch, sourced from switzerland and you'll find that for that kind of money there are a couple of well established traders who have brands like GP, Bucherer, Omega, Zenith, Tudor, (maybe even Rolex at 900chfs) etc.
They'll keep their value and look classy next to most modern watches.
my partner gave me a Tissot as a gift, and i love it. it's stylish but not so overly priced that i am scared i'll scratch it! my folks gave me a rolex years ago for my 18th and i've never wore it . to be honest though, it depends on the person you are buying the gift for... do they like brand names or well made things? happy shopping.
Don't forget about to have look at Festina , it's a traditional swiss watch brand and also in your price level.
Be carefull with the internet: swiss watch makers and industry recommend to never buy on the internet because there are a lot of fakes (especially high brands, Rolex and the like).
In a store you get professional advice, a garantee and may be even the possibility to change the model.
Happy shopping!
In this price range i would strongly recommend Maurice Lacroix.
I bought my high end Swiss watch by internet from NYC. It cost 4000CHF less than if I had bought it an hours drive from my home, which is where its made. It has passed the customs, as well as been back to the makers for a battery change, so it is clearly not a fake. How can Swiss watchmakers justify this? Its a shame too. I would rather have bought it here.
Raymond Weil is another classy mid range brand. Tissot has already been mentioned.
Which watch would you buy that costs so much and takes a battery
In the price range discussed here are not many fakes. As you said: Rolex - better be careful, but a fake Oris or Tissot? Hardly...
And to be honest, the manufacturers warn you not only because they worry that you might get cheated: Their prices vary from country to country in order to keep the end customer price relatively similar while the taxes are differently. As Switzerland has a very low VAT compared to most parts of the EU, you could deduct the 19% in Germany and pay 7.6% here. So instead of bringing the forecasted revenue to the Swiss shops... well you get the point. So better keep people scared... you will find some reseller on ebay that are in the business for quite some time with thousands of transactions and positive feedback. they are very unlikely to cheat you...
but I second the Manor special offer area. I bought two Tissots there this year as presents for my parents in law for half the regular price...