Switzerland: 8 shops selling pre-owned watches

Looking for a shop specialising in buying and selling pre-owned watches in Switzerland, whether modern or vintage? Good news: Switzerland has plenty to offer in this field!

• Bucherer, founded in 1888 in Lucerne and now controlled by Rolex (acquisition announced in 2023), was the first retailer to offer the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme.
• Several Geneva shops offer inspected and guaranteed pre-owned watches, from specialist boutiques to international resellers such as Watchfinder & Co.
• This article lists 8 Swiss shops specialising in buying and selling pre-owned watches, with our tips for buying wisely.

Discover 8 Swiss shops where you can buy or sell a pre-owned watch. Most of those we selected are based in Geneva.

#1 Bijouterie Séverine Ponti

---

With long experience in vintage jewellery and watchmaking, and after 15 years working with the Ponti business, Séverine Ponti opened her own boutique in the heart of Geneva city centre.

Bijouterie Séverine Ponti offers vintage jewellery and watches, including original creations and remodelling!

• Phone: 022 810 83 25
• Address: 19, rue Neuve-du-Molard, 1204 Geneva

👉 The little extra: worth remembering if you are also looking for vintage jewellery, or would like a piece of jewellery remodelled.

#2 Bucherer (new and pre-owned)

---

Bucherer is one of the largest watch and jewellery retailers in Europe, with boutiques in Switzerland and several other European countries.

Founded in 1888 in Lucerne (Switzerland), Bucherer has been a Rolex partner since 1924. Its acquisition by Rolex was announced in 2023, before obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals in 2024. It offers a very wide choice of Rolex watches and other luxury watches from famous brands such as Breitling, Cartier, Omega and Tudor, both new and pre-owned.

• Email: onlineservice@bucherer.com
• Phone: +41 41 369 79 79

👉 The little extra: Bucherer offers a high level of security when buying a certified pre-owned Rolex, thanks to the checks of the official programme and the two-year international guarantee. This security comes at a price: compare with other dealers before deciding.

#3 Global Luxury

---

Located in the heart of Geneva, Global Luxury describes itself as Switzerland’s first concept store entirely dedicated to watches and jewellery. For lovers of classic or contemporary watchmaking, especially those looking for pre-owned watches with that famous vintage patina, it is an address worth knowing!

• Email: info@globalluxury.ch
• Phone: +41 22 320 25 00
• Address: 24, boulevard Georges-Favon, 1204 Geneva

👉 The little extra: according to its website, Global Luxury also offers trade-ins and consignment sales of watches and jewellery, as well as repairs and remodelling.

#4 La Maison de l’Horlogerie (pre-owned)

---

Established in Geneva for more than 50 years, La Maison de l’Horlogerie presents itself as a pre-owned watch specialist. A true temple of watchmaking, it offers a selection of major brands, including Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Omega and Vacheron Constantin.

Its pre-owned watches are inspected and certified in-house, and the shop advertises a one-year guarantee. The boutique also has a workshop, a bookshop and even a wine bar!

• Email: info@lmdh.ch
• Phone: +41 22 732 09 54
• Address: 24, rue du Cendrier, 1201 Geneva

👉 The little extra: prices can be displayed in Swiss francs, dollars or euros on the website, and the boutique also buys watches from private individuals.

#5 Gold Business Time (GBT)

---

Gold Business Time (GBT) has several boutiques in Switzerland specialising in buying and selling watches, jewellery and precious stones, new or pre-owned, from private individuals and businesses. The company also has an online presence, with its Montres et Bijoux website becoming The Swiss Collector, which advertises a two-year guarantee on its watches.

GBT offers more than 50 brands, including Rolex, Omega, Hublot and Purnell.

• Phone: +41 22 732 24 24
• Address: 12, boulevard James-Fazy, 1201 Geneva

👉 The little extra: a practical option if you want to sell a watch or a piece of jewellery, through a buy-back or on consignment: ask for a valuation and compare it with another dealer’s before accepting.

#6 Ponti Collection

---

A family business founded in 2001, Ponti Collection started selling pre-owned vintage watches from a modest shop in Geneva, then grew quickly and attracted collectors from all over the world by moving from analogue to digital.

Joined by his son Stan in 2017, Laurent Ponti now runs the business with him.

• Visits: showroom open by appointment only
• Email: info@ponti-collection.ch
• Phone: +41 22 310 18 00
• Address: 2, rue du Puits-Saint-Pierre, 1204 Geneva

👉 The little extra: Ponti Collection has been on the Chrono24 platform since 2005 and holds Trusted Seller status there. Remember to book an appointment before you go.

#7 Roy & Sacha Davidoff

---

Founders of Roy & Sacha Davidoff, the Davidoff brothers are expert watchmakers specialising in pre-owned vintage watches. Their aim is to help clients find and choose these rare watches, especially vintage pieces from the 1940s to the 1980s.

• Visits: by appointment, via the request form on the shop’s website
• Address: 16, rue Verdaine, 1204 Geneva

👉 The little extra: the Davidoff brothers’ website offers serial number dating tables (Rolex, Omega, Breitling, Longines, Tudor), useful for estimating when a vintage watch was made. These are estimates, not an authentication.

#8 Watchfinder & Co.

---

Founded in 2002 and owned by the Richemont group since 2018, Watchfinder & Co. is one of the go-to names for buying or selling a high-end pre-owned watch. It offers thousands of models from around fifty brands, including Rolex, Omega, Cartier and many more, with a 24-month guarantee. It has a boutique in Geneva where you can buy, sell or trade in a watch.

• Geneva boutique: 34, rue du Marché, 1204 Geneva (at Bongénie)
• Phone: +41 58 330 33 29
• Head office: 9, route des Biches, 1752 Villars-sur-Glâne (Fribourg)

👉 The little extra: Watchfinder offers part-exchange of your watch for another, free home collection if you want to sell, and a 14-day return right, particularly for distance purchases (conditions may differ in the boutique).

How to buy a pre-owned watch wisely

---

Whichever shop you choose, a few checks are essential before buying:

• Original papers and box: a watch sold as a “full set” (box, certificate, original guarantee) resells better. Be careful, though: complete papers do not prove authenticity on their own, as they can be forged or may not match the watch.
• A certificate of authenticity: distinguish a certificate issued by an independent dealer, which commits that dealer, from a brand’s official certification (such as the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned programme), which relies on checks defined by the manufacturer.
• Servicing and guarantee: ask whether the watch was serviced before the sale and how long it is guaranteed for, in writing.
• The serial number: it must be legible and match the papers.
• The price: compare it with similar models at other dealers. A price well below the market should ring alarm bells.
• Online platforms: Chrono24, the major international marketplace for luxury watches, or Ricardo and Anibis in Switzerland, offer a very wide choice. Favour verified professional sellers and secure payment solutions, especially when dealing with a private seller.

Want to sell your watch?

---

Several shops on this list also buy watches from private individuals. A few tips to get the best price:

• Ask for several valuations: differences between dealers can be significant for the same model. Bucherer, La Maison de l’Horlogerie, The Swiss Collector and Watchfinder all offer buy-back or trade-in offers.
• Gather everything that comes with the watch: box, original papers, service invoices. A complete watch resells better.
• Choose between buy-back and consignment: a buy-back pays you immediately; consignment can earn more once the commission is deducted, but not always, and you are only paid once the watch is sold.
• Do not have it polished before selling: on a vintage collector’s watch, polishing can reduce its value in the eyes of collectors.

Buying from France?

---

Prices of watches offered in Switzerland are generally displayed in Swiss francs. For a large purchase, the exchange rate applied makes a real difference to the final price: before paying, compare the amount in euros with our CHF/EUR converter.

If you bring the watch back to France yourself, it falls under the travellers’ customs allowance (source: French customs):

• €300 per person aged 15 or over arriving by land, €430 by air or sea;
• €150 for travellers under 15;
• only €75 for eligible cross-border residents aged 15 or over (€40 for those under 15).

When a watch on its own exceeds the applicable allowance, it must be declared to French customs. Import VAT and, where applicable, customs duties are calculated on its total value, not just on the part above the threshold. These allowances do not apply to watches bought online and shipped by parcel to France.

On the Swiss side, VAT can be refunded on export (“tax free”), provided in particular that (source: Swiss Federal Tax Administration):

• the purchase amounts to at least CHF 300 including VAT per sales contract;
• the buyer is domiciled outside Switzerland;
• the watch is for personal use or a gift, and is exported within 90 days. Export must be proven, generally with an export document certified by a Swiss customs office or, in some cases, with proof of import taxation issued abroad.

The refund goes through the seller, not through a direct claim to the Swiss authorities. Remember to prepare your tax refund before crossing the border.

Is it worth buying a watch in Switzerland if you live in France?

---

From a tax point of view, rarely. Swiss VAT is lower (8.1% compared with 20% in France), but if you bring the watch back to France, you recover the Swiss VAT through the tax-free scheme… and then pay French VAT at the border.

Take the simplified example of a watch priced at CHF 10,000 including VAT in Switzerland:

• price excluding Swiss VAT: around CHF 9,251 (CHF 10,000 divided by 1.081);
• Swiss VAT recoverable through the tax-free scheme: around CHF 749, minus any processing fees;
• French import VAT due: 20% of the value of the watch, i.e. around CHF 1,850, payable in euros at the day’s exchange rate;
• total cost: around CHF 11,100, more than the price displayed in Switzerland, to which customs duties may be added if the watch does not qualify for the preferential origin provided for by the free trade agreement between Switzerland and the European Union (ask the seller for proof of origin).

The appeal of buying in Switzerland therefore lies elsewhere: a very rich pre-owned and vintage market, the chance to see and try the watch before buying it, and sometimes a model that is hard to find in France. As the price is set in Swiss francs, the exchange rate applied to your payment also weighs on the final bill: that is where part of the saving is made.

Frequently asked questions about buying a pre-owned watch in Switzerland