Buying a watch in Switzerland as a visitor: the complete step-by-step guide

By Walty, Pre-owned Watch Specialist at Waltana, Lausanne

Every year, collectors plan trips to Switzerland partly around watch buying — and for good reason. Beyond the obvious appeal of buying at the source, visitors who export their purchase correctly can recover the 8.1% Swiss VAT, making an in-person purchase meaningfully cheaper than it looks on the price tag. Here's exactly how the process works, from browsing to boarding your flight home.

Patek Philippe 5905/1A-001 Flyback Ch. Annual Calendar

Step 1: Confirm the watch is in stock before you travel

Every watch listed on waltana.ch/shop is physically in our possession — nothing is listed on spec or sourced after the fact. Still, if you're planning a trip around a specific piece, it's worth reaching out in advance to confirm availability and, if you'd like, arrange a private viewing at your preferred pick-up point.

Step 2: Choose where to meet

We have pick-up points across Switzerland — Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Luzern, Lugano, Zürich, and Winterthur — so you can view and collect your watch somewhere convenient to your itinerary, not just at a single showroom.

Step 3: Complete the purchase

At the point of sale, you'll pay the full price including 8.1% Swiss VAT — this is unavoidable at checkout, even for non-residents. What matters is what happens next.

You'll receive:

• A detailed invoice showing the VAT-inclusive price

• A stamped export form (or official invoice suitable for customs) that you'll need to validate at the border

Step 4: Export the watch and get your export document stamped

This is the step that determines whether you actually get your VAT back, so it's worth doing carefully.

• Carry the watch with you (worn or in carry-on, not checked luggage) along with the export form and your invoice

• Present these to Swiss customs when you leave the country — at the airport, or at a staffed land border crossing

• Customs must stamp the export form before you leave Swiss territory; a form stamped after the fact, or at an unstaffed crossing, generally can't be used

• Be mindful of clearance times at your crossing point — arriving at the last minute or outside staffed hours can mean missing the stamp entirely

We recommend that you:

• Keep the watch and paperwork easily accessible when going through customs, rather than buried in checked luggage

• Build in extra time at the airport specifically for this step, especially during peak travel periods

• Photograph the stamped form as a backup before sending it to us

Step 5: Send us proof of export

Once your export form is stamped, send us a copy within a few days of your departure. This is what allows us to process your VAT refund — without it, we're not able to complete the refund on our end.

Step 6: Receive your refund

Once we've received and validated your stamped export documentation, we process the 8.1% VAT refund. The exact timeline can vary slightly depending on how the refund is issued, but we'll confirm details with you directly when you make your purchase.

What if you'd rather not deal with export paperwork?

If navigating airport customs isn't appealing, international courier shipping is the simpler route: we deduct the VAT before invoicing, so there's no in-person export step required at all. You can read more about how that process works in our guide to international shipping.

Planning a trip, or still deciding?

If you're weighing an in-person visit against having a watch shipped, we're happy to talk through which makes more sense for your situation — including realistic savings once you factor in your own country's import duties on arrival. Reach out at contact@waltana.ch, or browse current stock at waltana.ch/shop.