[masochistsr]

Originally Posted by brockytop

I travel to Hong Kong often and availability is excellent (except for the Silver Snoopy, of course)! With the new boutiques in Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, I think there are 5 Omega Boutiques in HK. Since the Hong Kong Dollar is doing well, prices with the exchange rate are just a tad higher than the States but, if you consider there is no sales tax, you will probably save a couple of bucks.

Example: in February, I bought a DateJust 41 from a Rolex AD and paid $11,009 with the exchange rate. Retail price in the USA is $10,500. If by the grace of God I ever were to have gotten a call for DJ41 from the AD here in Seattle, I would have to add $1100 (10.5%) to the bill so I figure I saved $600. More importantly, I was wearing the watch today!

I have also been to Taipei many times but not in the past year. I suspect you would save a bit more money there vs the USA and HKG since the Taiwan Dollar is a bit weak presently. If you take the time to do the VAT refund process (5%, so well worth the time!) you will end up paying less than the retail price in the USA in a tax-free state. Availability in TPE isn’t quite as good as HKG so, if you’re in HKG first and don’t think you can get that 60th Anniversary James Bond Seamaster or white Speedy (they had both of them in Causeway Bay two weeks ago!) then you might want to secure one and pay a few hundred more bucks!

By the way, I just checked the Omega website and retail for a white Speedy is $8100 without sales tax in the USA and $8179 with today’s exchange rate in HKG where this is the final price because there is no sales tax. The retail price for a white Speedy in TPE is $8290 with the exchange rate but I’m almost certain this includes the 5% VAT. If you ask the shop to do the paperwork (you must have your passport with you when you make the purchase, by the way) then stop by the refund window at the airport on your way out of the country, you should get about $415 back and your total cost for the new white Speedmaster would be $7875.

In any case, you need to get yourself a souvenir during your trip, don’t ya?!

Thanks! I’m on the list for a white speedy with my NYC AD. My all in price would be around $8800. If I can just walk in to a boutique in HK or Taipei and get one for $700-$900 less that would be great!