Asia - Hong Kong or S'pore Where to purchase Rolex

Has anyone priced or purchased a Rolex in either location? I am told that the price would be about the same in either location. Your experience in this matter would be appreciated!

You can get very cheap "Rolex" on Nathan Road in HKG. Colleagues of mine who are into these things say that the better ones are completely indistinguishable from the real thing.

Accompany a friend go buying the real Rolex in a decent shop compare to decent shop in S'pore "Cortina Watch". After a real hard bargain and trying to go buying in the morning, you can find it's cheaper in HK about 5-10%. But you have to be tough in negotiation plus real knowledge of the price of that model you're buying.

I've bought fine watches in HK in the past, but the deals haven't seemed to be there for a long time. I've found the best negotiated deals at the LA jewelry mart. Most recent purchase was a Cartier. No issues with fakes either.

Now if you are looking for imitations, I haven't a clue.

You can get very cheap "Rolex" on Nathan Road in HKG. Colleagues of mine who are into these things say that the better ones are completely indistinguishable from the real thing.
No different except for the ticking of the second hand. Somehow, they haven't figured out how to fake the oyster movement. ;)

I've seen Rolex fakes that sweep just fine... Not many though.

Accompany a friend go buying the real Rolex in a decent shop compare to decent shop in S'pore "Cortina Watch". After a real hard bargain and trying to go buying in the morning, you can find it's cheaper in HK about 5-10%. But you have to be tough in negotiation plus real knowledge of the price of that model you're buying.
Negotiation is the only way to go! Even in S'pore. My friend brought me to Cortina recently to purchase a Cartier and after tough negotiations and saying things like I get it cheaper in HKG...etc, I managed to get it at a better price than in HKG

You have to visit "Jerry" on a back alley near Nanjing Lu in Shanghai. He'll hook you up...any make, any model :D

IME, I have never found really good deals in HK or S'pore.

All my Rolexes "of questionable authenticity" are indistinguishable from real. I even took one into a dealer to adjust the band and they didn't say a word.

KL or Singapore would be the best bet, i go to both kl, singapore and hkg a few times per year, cheapest place is in KL but you gotta push it very much, standard discount they will offer will be 20-25% but if you know how to do the stuff you can get up to 31% and therefore cheaper than both Sin and hkg

You have to visit "Jerry" on a back alley near Nanjing Lu in Shanghai. He'll hook you up...any make, any model :D

IME, I have never found really good deals in HK or S'pore.

All my Rolexes "of questionable authenticity" are indistinguishable from real. I even took one into a dealer to adjust the band and they didn't say a word.

I'd like to hear from someone who has both good fakes as well as the real thing. I once tried good fakes in Bangkok, and they couldn't be more different than the authentic ones. The bands, the finish, the movement, are all totally inferior to the real thing imho. you pay $20 and you get a watch worth $20.

I've found it very easy to find the real good fakes in BKK and KUL. And yes they are almost indistiguishable. If they are on your wrist, even a Rolex-trained jeweler can't tell the difference. However if he holds it in his hand he can immediately tell.

There are two basic types. The cheap fake has a ticking second hand and is battery operated. The good fake has a sweep second hand and it is powered by motion. The drawback is that if the watch sits still for a day or so it will stop. You have to shake it to get it going again and reset the time. However if you wear it every day you won't have to do that. The longest I've had a fake last is 3 years. They will eventually break down. But who cares when they are so cheap?

I have been buying these for years and I know how to get the price down to $25US and sometimes lower if I buy a bunch of them as gifts.

If you are looking for an authentic Rolex then I would check on-line (purchasing in the U.S.A.) as some prices seem pretty reasonable. For the watch I was looking at (GMT II) prices seemed the same in the U.S., exclusive of sales tax.

Pricescan GMT II (http://www.pricescan.com/watches/items/item615035.asp)


Obviously low import duty, refundable sales (VAT) tax and currency fluctuations can make buying a watch in BKK, KUL or SIN slightly cheaper. Additional considerations are VAT (7%) and getting that refunded, and paying in cash or with a credit card. The later can sometimes incur an additional 3% here (Thailand).

If you want, I can get some prices here in Bangkok, just let me know (PM, email, post) which model (number, name, style) you desire.

I did a quick search on some other forums and found all sorts of conflicting information; KL is cheapest, HKG is cheapest because of competition, Rolex prices are fixed so variables are luxury duty, VAT and currency variables….

If you are looking for a replica Rolex, supposedly there are several different “levels” of quality. IIRC the top level has some sort of Japanese mechanism. There was a great and informative post on replica watches, specifically detailing a few shops in MBK, in the “shopping” forum of the ‘Bangkok Tonight’ forum. Satisfied customers reported paying b4,200 for a best-level (Sub-Mariner) However I am currently unable to access that forum. Obviously lower-quality replicas are available everywhere on the street, except on Mondays.

Replica Guide (http://www.watchcity.biz/replicaguide.pdf)

Thank u all for the info.. I am int. in the real thing only as I am not a knockoff person. I will inform myself with price and model prior to my trip and therefore be prepared to bargain for a good price. If the price is close to the price at home I will purchase the watch when I return.

It was a pleasant experience, the sales people in the store were extremely professional, and I got exactly what I wanted. We were happy with the price, which was much less than in Paris, where we were living. Ten years later, it still runs perfectly. However, paying the least amount of money humanly possible was not the main objective.

Thank u all for the info.. I am int. in the real thing only as I am not a knockoff person. I will inform myself with price and model prior to my trip and therefore be prepared to bargain for a good price. If the price is close to the price at home I will purchase the watch when I return.


Couple of comments:

1. haven't bought rolex, patek philippe, etc. for years now but when i did, usually in singapore.

2. price difference between sing/hk will vary partly due to foreign currency, usually HK 5% less.

3. either place the watch is real from reputable dealer but sometimes you get excellent generic gold band in hk. so if you want to make sure you get a real real one, singapore is best bet.

others have mentioned cortina singapore....there are two locations on orchard, one in lucky plaza, the other further down (forgot name of shopping plaza)....ask for eric, he used to be manager at lucky but moved to other location....bargain HARD, compare prices and you'll be ok!

Remember also that Singapore also has a sales tax of 5%, so you will need to make sure that you can reclaim that on exit. Hong Kong has none.

I can give you details of a very good jeweller in Macau. I got my 50th Aniverssary Navitimer Brietling there