Bahrain/Dubai Value

MarcusP12

Hi folks,

You will see i've posted before of my wish to invest in a high end (by most people's standard) watch at some stage in the future. Looks like i'm going to be working in Bahrain for a couple of years so if that goes well I fully intend to treat myself to something like a Tag/Omega/Breitling. Does anyone have expierence of buying there? We'll obviously end up in Dubai at some stage... Is that better? To complicate further we'll probably go on a blow out holiday to South Africa or the States when we're back so wait till then?

I know exchange rates come into play obviously but are any of these locations considered THE place to invest.

I'll be heading over to Bahrain for a few days in the next month or so, any recommendations of where to do a bit of a reccie?

Cheers for the pointers...m

blue5000

Your use of the word 'invest' should be reconsidered, unless you get lucky with some sort of rolex that collectors will go mad for in the future. Buying a used watch might be better, let someone else take the big hit on valuation first.

Menas

I dont know about Bahrain, but I found Dubai to actually be expensive for luxury watches. And I include Dubai duty free in that!

Mredsnapper

Yep, used to be cheap now expensive. Might be better off buying here and claiming tax back if you are resident abroad.

The investment bit seems risky to me.

mynameis905

MarcusP12 wrote: »

Hi folks,

You will see i've posted before of my wish to invest in a high end (by most people's standard) watch at some stage in the future. Looks like i'm going to be working in Bahrain for a couple of years so if that goes well I fully intend to treat myself to something like a Tag/Omega/Breitling. Does anyone have expierence of buying there? We'll obviously end up in Dubai at some stage... Is that better? To complicate further we'll probably go on a blow out holiday to South Africa or the States when we're back so wait till then?

I know exchange rates come into play obviously but are any of these locations considered THE place to invest.

I'll be heading over to Bahrain for a few days in the next month or so, any recommendations of where to do a bit of a reccie?

Cheers for the pointers...m

All nice watches but not exactly investments. The Tag and the Breitling in particular will drop like a stone in value the minute you walk out the door of the AD.

MarcusP12

Thanks for the replies so far but just to clarify, I don't mean invest in the literal sense!more of a one off indulgence that would be nice to pass on to my son for example...are used watches common in those parts?i know there's plenty of options on line but if I'm considering 2nd hand ever,I would like it to be from bricks and mortar....is it fair to say that it's the exchange rates that will determine the value compared to here?or are there regions that are lower priced markets or tax free for example?

On an aside, I used to like the idea of a tag carrera chrono but have since more to breitling especially the avenger sea wolf....there's something quite manly about having avenger and sea wolf in its title hah!

Mredsnapper

MarcusP12 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far but just to clarify, I don't mean invest in the literal sense!more of a one off indulgence that would be nice to pass on to my son for example...are used watches common in those parts?i know there's plenty of options on line but if I'm considering 2nd hand ever,I would like it to be from bricks and mortar....is it fair to say that it's the exchange rates that will determine the value compared to here?or are there regions that are lower priced markets or tax free for example?

On an aside, I used to like the idea of a tag carrera chrono but have since more to breitling especially the avenger sea wolf....there's something quite manly about having avenger and sea wolf in its title hah!

Depends what you want but exchange rate is not everything. Vendors as vendors do generally tend to charge as much as the market will bear. Rolex AFAIK are a bit stricter about selling over or under RRP so maybe fx rates will kick in there. Generally though Dubai is supposed to be quite expensive nowadays. Cheaper options might be reclaiming vat in the eu and haggling a discount. Second hand is generally cheaper than new also but do your homework first.

MarcusP12

Mredsnapper wrote: »

Depends what you want but exchange rate is not everything. Vendors as vendors do generally tend to charge as much as the market will bear. Rolex AFAIK are a bit stricter about selling over or under RRP so maybe fx rates will kick in there. Generally though Dubai is supposed to be quite expensive nowadays. Cheaper options might be reclaiming vat in the eu and haggling a discount. Second hand is generally cheaper than new also but do your homework first.

What is the definition of me not being resident here and being able to claim back vat on a trip home while on a long term overseas assignment?

blue5000

Ok I probably over reacted to the word 'invest', apologies. But reading this

http://www.watchesbysjx.com/2015/10/explaining-chinas-importance-to-luxury.html

might make some people think that Swiss watch prices might be under a bit of downward pressure over the next few months.

Bluefoam

Mredsnapper wrote: »

Yep, used to be cheap now expensive. Might be better off buying here and claiming tax back if you are resident abroad.

The investment bit seems risky to me.

That's how I bought my Monaco. Found a great deal in Dublin during my Christmas holidays... brought it to Dubai and claimed the tax back... was a massive bargain. Sheerans will actually send the watch out to you with a vat receipt if you want...

MarcusP12

Bluefoam wrote: »

That's how I bought my Monaco. Found a great deal in Dublin during my Christmas holidays... brought it to Dubai and claimed the tax back... was a massive bargain. Sheerans will actually send the watch out to you with a vat receipt if you want...

thanks Bluefoam....so when you say massive bargain, what did you get off % wise off the rrp including discount and vat? where did you get it and how do you go about claiming the VAT back?

Bluefoam

MarcusP12 wrote: »

thanks Bluefoam....so when you say massive bargain, what did you get off % wise off the rrp including discount and vat? where did you get it and how do you go about claiming the VAT back?

When you buy the watch, ask for a VAT receipt. when you get to the airport bring the watch and receipt to the special VAT desk and ask for a refund, they will refund the VAT back to your credit card... I believe you can do the same online.

My watch was missing its original box, it was new but had a small scratch on the side... so it was reduced by over 50% (bought from a high-street retailer & it is genuine). I asked them to round the price down to e2000 (at the time the RRP was e4,500). I claimed e400 back in VAT. So I got a e4,500 watch for e1600... How bad?

When I got back home I brought the watch to the TAG shop, and they gave it a very light polish to remove the scratch FOC...

MarcusP12

Bluefoam wrote: »

When you buy the watch, ask for a VAT receipt. when you get to the airport bring the watch and receipt to the special VAT desk and ask for a refund, they will refund the VAT back to your credit card... I believe you can do the same online.

My watch was missing its original box, it was new but had a small scratch on the side... so it was reduced by over 50% (bought from a high-street retailer & it is genuine). I asked them to round the price down to e2000 (at the time the RRP was e4,500). I claimed e400 back in VAT. So I got a e4,500 watch for e1600... How bad?

When I got back home I brought the watch to the TAG shop, and they gave it a very light polish to remove the scratch FOC...

Man alive that's a bargain alright...fair play to you....if that's the tag shop in the city centre mall, I think its gone now.....I think if I was buying new, i'd go that route too...10% discount plus VAT back is nearly 30% off which from what I can see on line apart from some a couple American sites, is as good as you'll do new, unless anyone can point me in a different direction....half thinking of picking something up second hand and then doing a properly splurge new in a couple of years....