Well I am
off to Bangkok soon with my beloved , let’s get that clear from the start ! Tips for watch shopping welcome ..also should I go for a riverside hotel or a city centre one , Thanks in advance .
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It is a Mecca for watch shopping. Siam Paragon would be my first stop. That's all high end luxury stuff. MBK Center for rare Seikos. Central Department stores will have the more mid range brands. If you buy make sure you get the paperwork done to do a VAT reclaim at the airport.Originally Posted by Kitz
Last edited by ryanb741; 12th February 2022 at 09:28.
A very good friend of mine, a fair few years ago, did a trawl of bricabrac type places in some district of Bangkok.
He spotted something a bit special, and threw together a bunch of red herrings and paid €50 for the lot. The lady on the stall looked well pleased.
He went back to his hotel, discarded the dross and then UPS'ed the good one home.
He arrived back well before the watch did.
However, his WIS senses were spot on. An early 60s manual wind Patek Philippe. He spent about €500 at the time having it restored and is very happy with it.
I was in Thailand over Xmas & New Year. The Siam Paragon Centre ground floor where the LV boutique is located is where you'll find all the big hitters Rolex, Patek, Pendulum (Thailand's WOS), etc. Ground floor of the Paragon Department store has a huge dedicated horology dept Seiko and GS, Citizen, Breiltling, Oris, etc, etc. In most of Bangkok's big name department stores like Central have a decent horology depth.
Be warned though you won't find too many bargains anymore and don't be shy to ask for discount. I was offered 25% off a Seiko Prospex 55th Anniversary SLA037J1 but it still worked out more than UK cost so I passed.
MBK Centre is a 10min walk away but due to the pandemic a lot of the small booths that used to sell pre owned Rolexes and all sorts have either moved away or just ceased trading. It's a bit sad in there now with a lot of the traders gone.
You'll find that in many of the big shopping malls there are plenty of watch shops.
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I’ll keep an eye out for a Patek .. !
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Another nod for Siam Paragon, but as mentioned, make sure you do the currency conversions, I could actually buy cheaper in the UK, particularly eBay UK.
Unless you want something they have that is hard to find. I did also notice some specific Asia-Market models which were nice
Agree with the Asia Ltd editions - in particular the Zimbe Ltd edition Seikos
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Updating this as in Bangkok currently. Generally most prices are higher than the UK. No Rolexes unless you are a local VIP. Much more availability on Patek than UK (no 5167 etc but they had that new grey dial Calatrava) however prices again higher than UK and they won't participate in the tourist VAT refund scheme so it is their way of saying 'we don't want your money'.
Basically we have it good in the UK price wise- you won't do better elsewhere
Thanks for the update Ryan , any tips for non watch purchases, when I was in Singapore I bought brilliant kitchen knives …
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There is, or was a GS boutique in Gaysorn shopping centre and the staff in there were super helpful and friendly.
The last time I went to Bangkok I had a good look around at
https://www.iconsiam.com/en
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