Where to buy a watch?

[Optics]

I'm in need of advice and am sure someone here will have the knowledge I seek. I'm in the market for a new watch (reasonable, but not too expensive), and I want to know where is the best place to buy one. I'm off to Zurich next month, via HKG. So the options available are to buy:
1. Duty Free in Melbourne city
2. DF in MEL
3. DF in HKG
4. in Zurich and get duty refunded
5. DF in Zurich a/p (sorry, don't know the code).
So what do people think is the best option out of the above? I don't have a stopover in Hong Kong, so can't buy in the city, which may have been the best option.

 

[PineappleSkip]

If you want to use it while travelling, you could buy in MEL. Also you haven't indicated whether you wanted a Swiss watch.

If not, perhaps check out the prices in HKG and ZRH duty free stores on the way out, then have a look around Zurich, and make a choice based on your shopping.

Personally I'd probably just get a watch as a souvenir, my favourite is a DB watch bought at Bahnshop 1435 at Frankfurt Hbf.

I'm reminded of the old joke "After I went shopping with the wife, I took her out for a drink to get even. We went to six different pubs and checked out what they had, then we went back to the first one and bought a beer"

Cheers skip

 

[DJ 1D]

I would not buy the watch in Australia. With the Aussie dollar so strong I would definitely buy it overseas, especially if you're looking at a premium watch.

 

[Febs]

Can't help with Zurich sorry, but with the AUD so good I'd say forget buying in Australia, even with discounts.

Take an IWC Portofino I looked at recently for example (prices all without haggling because I wasn't looking seriously to buy at the time):
Sydney - ~$4,400
HKG DF - ~$2,800
US - ~$2,200

As you're not going to the US, I'd consider HKG, depending on what you're after and what prices are like in Switzerland.

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[Optics]

Thanks all. Sorry, I should have mentioned I am looking for a Swiss watch, which is why I thought Zurich might be the best place. I will look at the prices DF in HKG on the way over, and then compare prices in Zurich while there. No real surpirse, it seems most places are cheaper than Australia, and this will only be more the case with the strong AUD (though that shouldn't make much difference really).