Where is the cheapest place to buy watches in Europe?

　　When buying watches abroad, you do not necessarily have to go to Switzerland. Although Switzerland has a very complete selection of watch models, prices are not cheap. The best choice is to buy watches in neighbouring European countries to secure the biggest discounts.

　　Jungfrau

　　There is only one counter at Jungfrau, so the variety of watches is certainly limited, but you can secure good discount prices. Prices for the same watch model vary across different Swiss cities, even before discounts. For example, if you buy a pair of Longines watches at Jungfrau, you get a 9 discount for cash, a 92 discount for card payments, plus a 7.6 tax refund. Although discounts vary depending on the place of manufacture, it is still relatively cost-effective compared to buying within Switzerland.

　　Lucerne

　　Watch shops in Lucerne, Switzerland, are practically overrun by Chinese tourists. The flagship stores in prime locations are basically dominated by Chinese visitors, making you feel as though you have stepped into a shopping mall in Shenzhen, complete with Chinese advertisements and service. Not only are there Chinese-speaking shop assistants, but even some foreign staff are fluent in Mandarin. On my very first day, I heard that a batch of Patek Philippe watches at one shop had actually been bought out entirely by Chinese tourists.

　　Vienna

　　Recently, people have made another major discovery: buying watches in Austria is cheaper than in other parts of Europe. According to tour guides, this is because Austria offers a tax refund rate of up to 15% for single purchases exceeding 7000 euros, whereas in Switzerland, the watch-making powerhouse, the rate mostly hovers around 8%. On the pedestrian streets of Vienna, there are not many watch shops, with only two of any significant scale. One of them is Wempe, a familiar name to many. If you are buying a Patek Philippe, you cannot browse a large selection like you can with other items; sales assistants typically bring out at most two pieces at a time, and many models are hard to find. A friend once spotted a model they liked in Hong Kong, but it was out of stock there, and upon checking in Vienna, it was unavailable there too. Later, they learned that this brand only produces around 3 thousand watches a year, making specific models even scarcer.