Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland approximately 25 miles from the German border. Zurich is a very cosmopolitan, affluent city considered one of the top financial centers of the world —home to several global financial companies and banks including UBS and Credit Suisse— and a perfect destination for watch shopping.
One of the great advantages of Zurich is that most of the authorized dealers and watch boutiques are located in Zurich's main downtown street, the Bahnhofstrasse. Once you start heading north from the Paradeplatz towards the Zurich HB —main central train station— you will find pretty much every single brand you might be looking for during your visit.
Make sure you start your watch shopping adventure at Türler, right at the intersection of Paradeplatz and Bahnhofstrasse. Türler is one of Switzerland's premiere oldest authorized dealers carrying brands like Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Breguet, Breitling, Frédérique Constant, Zenith, Chronoswiss, TAG Heuer, Vacheron Constantin and IWC amongst others.
Next to Türler you will find the Blancpain Boutique that is not only beautiful but very well stocked. After you start heading north towards Zurich's HB and right after you pass Hèrmes, you'll come across Montblanc on the left side of the street and Bulgari on the right side.
About a block north, you'll find Beyer at the intersection of Bahnhofstrasse and Bärengasse. This authorized dealer carries a wide variety of brands including Baume & Mercier, IWC, Hublot, Jaquet Droz, Breguet, Chopard, Tudor, Rolex, Breitling and they also operate the Patek Philippe Boutique that is a standalone store next to the Beyer main store.
A short block up on the same side where Beyer is located at the intersection with St. Peterstrasse, you will find Meister, the authorized dealer for brands like Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Porsche Design, Ulysse Nardin, Piaget, Franck Muller, Hublot and Omega. Before you keep heading north, make sure you cross the street and walk up on the right side to come across Gübelin —one of the oldest and most renowned in all of Switzerland carrying Patek Philippe and other exclusive brands—, and the Piaget and Chopard boutiques.
Half a block up across the street, you will find Zett Meyer, authorized dealer for IWC, Ebel, Rado, Longines, TAG Heuer, Movado, U-Boat, Tissot, Baume & Mercier and Certina amongst others. Almost next door to it, you'll find the Cartier boutique. By the way, a new Omega Boutique will be opening soon just catty-corner from Cartier.
A block up from where the Omega Boutique will be opening soon and across from Credit Suisse, you will find Bucherer —perhaps the most prestigious and well known dealer in Switzerland carrying a large inventory of Rolex and Tudor pieces— and next to it the current Omega Boutique on Bahnhofstrasse 52. One more block north but on the left side you'll stumble upon the recently opened IWC Boutique, which we have previously featured here.
Finally, our last stop on Bahnhofstrasse is at the exclusive store named Les Ambassadeurs. This extremely upscale and refined authorized dealer —located next to the famous Franz Carl Weber toy store—carries the largest selection of timepieces and jewelry in all of Switzerland. Here you will find Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breguet, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Panerai, Girard-Perregaux, Breitling, Blancpain, Bovet, Bell & Ross, Chanel, Roger Dubuis, Urwerk, Vulcain, Harry Winston, Ulysse Nardin and A. Lange & Söhne amongst other brands.
Lastly, if you still have any time and energy left and you are looking to buy some very interesting vintage timepieces, you can stop by Jim Gerber Fine Timepieces or H. Lienert just around five to six blocks east of the Paradeplatz towards the Münsterbrücke and the Quaibrücke. The address for Jim Gerber Fine Timepieces is Rämistrasse 29 and H.Lienert is located on In Gassen around the number 16 by the zum Kropf restaurant.
