Second Hand / Vintage in Dubai? Any tips?

[drainaps]

Good morning,
I'm headed to Dubai for the week. While I. Visit regularly, it never crossed my mind to go second hand / vintage shopping there. I must confess my expectations are not too high as prices in the Gulf ate very high, but I want to give it a try......

Any leads from fellow Board members? Thanks a million for help.

[frequentflyer]

Found these stores online but haven't had a chance to visit. As with everything in Dubai, I would expect the prices to be high.

1. Momentum in DIFC

2. Dubai Star Watches on the Jumeirah beach road

3. The Gold and Diamond Market on Sheik Zayed Road (Saw a few in the windows but after looking at engagement rings, Rolex was out of the question!!)


Let me know if they're any good if you do visit.

[StuartM1970]

Howdy. Second-hand dealers in Dubai are high on the price side.

Dubai Star is worth a visit, but don't expect a bargain compared to prices on this forum. I've only been on the Momentum site, but the prices made my eyes water.

You can occasionally find a decent deal on dubizzle.com, but caveat emptor on the legitimacy of the products.

That said, if bling is your thing, there are loads of jewel encrusted used items around.

On the up side, the weather is amazing right now.

[wahasa]

Do let us know if you find anything interesting... Pics would be most appreciated dxb is always very nice...

[drainaps]

Here I go with my report as a means of saying thank you to those who helped me....

Dubai Star: Jumeirah Beach Road. In a no-frills shopping centre. They have many Vintage Rolexes in a vitrine, which are not for sale. Seems the owner keeps whatever he fancies from whatever enters his shop. I tried, but no chance.

This shop is clearly aimed at the tourist-cum-watch buyer lured by "duty free" prices in Dubai. Got a very mild, almost surly welcome from one employee (owner was clearly the second, taller guy in the shop). No vintage. Lots of Datejusts. Some subs. Took an aim at a 16,610 LV. I'm really looking for one to add to my collection. Here it is how it went:

-Asked for a loupe to check the watch (had mine in my bag, but did not want to play smart ass). Got one after a puzzled look. Examined watch.

-When I was going to unscrew the crown, shop attendant stopped me dry. "You can only do that if you decide to buy the watch". I did not bother to reply that one needs to check the state of the tube before giving a price estimate for a watch, or decide to buy at all. Clearly they cater to tourists and non-watch enthusiasts who will take for good whatever they say, and do not care if a tube is shot and need to pay 500+ USD to change it. This was the first warning sign.

-Then I enquired casually if the watch could be opened. Again, I had to agree to buy the watch before any such thing could be asked. Second warning sign.

Asking price was around 25,000 AED, which is around 1,000 USD above anything reasonable. Owner had joined in the talk and said he could "give some discount". I made an offer 20% below their asking price, at 20,000 AED, in line with a reasonable price. Watch was in good condition by the way.

They promptly refused and I left. It was clearly useless to continue the talk, and I felt I had overstayed my welcome.

Needless to say I stayed low-key, unassuming, polite, non-bragging thorough the talk, and I also made clear that if the price interested me, I would buy the watch on the spot, which was true by the way.

I looked at the Momentum website and did not bother to pay them a visit. Prices displayed were nonsensical

As I feared after many prior visits to the Gulf, this stays a part of the world where prices are high and discounts meager. Crossed out my watch hunting destinations already.

Hope this helps.

Once again thanks to those of you providing addresses and valuable PM information, Abu-Dhabi based forum member Wasaba in particular. Much appreciated.