Watch shopping in California?

[PhilipK]

I'm going to be on holiday in California shortly (my wife's going to a conference there, and I'm following her over).

We are planning to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles through Yosemite, and then back up to SF along the cost, taking about 2 weeks for the trip (giving her some time in mountains/sea, and me some time in cities).

• Are there any interesting watch opportunities (especially second-hand) in that region?

• How do (especially second-hand) prices compare with UK?

• Anything else (apart from the obvious tourist things) that I should look out for (it's my first time on the West coast)?

[robcat]

If you're into Glashutte Original and want to actually see them in the flesh, Topper Jewellers are in Burlingame, just outside SF- near the airport. They're good guys.

Not sure about used watches.

We've done that trip a few times. It's a great part of the world, especially when you get north of Santa Barbara - the traffic thins out and the views get prettier. San Simeon is worth a look (plus there's a beach where the Elephant Seals congregate just north of it), then Carmel, the 17-mile drive and Monterey are worth a detour on your way back to SF.

[Pennywise]

Incredible Rolex dealer in carmel vintage and new think it almost had Rolexes complete range, plus a nice double red dweller :)

[short_dog]

Prices appear cheaper than uk, but dont forget import duty if caught!!! should be ok if you only buy one watch and wear it home! Worth a look though!

[rmclachlan]

Prices appear cheaper than uk, but dont forget import duty if caught!!! should be ok if you only buy one watch and wear it home! Worth a look though!

No import duty due, but VAT will be due if caught. Unlikely if you get the boxes sent home by mail and wear the watch.

[cookiemonster]

Not sure about the watches as I'm new to the scene. Good local sandwich shop is Little Lucca's in South SF and Burlingame. To be honest I always make sure to stop by Little Lucca's whenever I go back home for a visit. Favorite Mexican eatery is Cancun in the Mission in SF. Always stop by here too. If you decide to venture up north and oysters are your thing Tomales Bay is a nice, quiet place to enjoy the coast for an afternoon.

[spluurfg]

Back when I lived in SF for a short period I saw some good deals to be had in the Tourneau in the Westfield mall in their 2nd hand display. Mind you this was 5 years ago but I saw an old electric blue automatic Seamaster for $800, a JLC Ultra Thin W.G. for $7,000, the odd IWC dress watch at $2,000 or so, etc etc.

It's worth actually asking the sale staff. I was once in a Tourneau branch in Miami and I asked if they had anything interesting on, at which point the sales woman pointed out that they had 50% discount on all Blancpains, though this wasn't visibly marked at all at the counter.

Aside from that, there aren't actually that many shops in SF itself. I did get recommended to go to Toppers in Burlingame but I didn't have a car at the time so I never made it out there. There are a bunch of dealers in Chinatown which I thought were dodgy until I looked them up on the brands' websites and found that they were listed -- go check online first.