Upgrade Your 2024 Wrist Game At 10 Of The Best Watch Shops In Sydney

Speaking as a (somewhat biased) resident: if you’re looking to buy luxury watches in Australia, my two cents are that it’s incredible difficult to beat Sydney. The country’s most populous city and financial centre has a plethora of watch stores to choose from; ranging from those specialising in luxury timepieces from hallowed names like Audemars Piguet to ‘secondary market’ operations where vintage watches and pre-owned stock rule the roost.

Before getting stuck into our latest Boss Hunting approved retail guide, I’d like to stress that all of the ‘watch stores’ we’ve seen fit to include fall either into the third-party retailer or pre-owned categories. That makes these recommendations distinct from the usual brand-operated boutiques – those are all easily locatable via a quick Google search.

We’ll get to the best and/or most interesting examples in that latter category in the near future, but for now here are all of the best independent Sydney watch stores to visit in 2024.

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Where To Find The Best Watch Shops In Sydney For 2024 – Table Of Contents [Not Ranked]

1. The Hour Glass
2. Time Keeper Boutique
3. Gregory Jewellers
4. Watches of Switzerland
5. Watch Exchange
6. J Farren-Price
7. Swiss Concept
8. Wamada Jewellery
9. Kennedy Star Sydney
10. Zaeger Luxury Watches

The Hour Glass

Address: 192 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9160 3888
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday (11.00am – 5.30pm); Sunday (11.00am – 5.00pm)
Other Locations: Culinan House; 147 King Street

A Singaporean retailer of some repute – at time of writing, it is present in 8 regions across the Asia-Pacific – The Hour Glass operates a number of boutiques Australia-wide. The group have an avowed focus on extremely high-end Swiss watches; and along with a small handful of other local operations are privileged to carry all three of the ‘new Trinity’ brands (ergo Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Rolex).

We’re personally very fond of The Hour Glass’s ‘specialist’ Rolex boutique. Located smackdab in the middle of Sydney’s CBD (at the corner of Pitt and Market Street), it occupies two floors of space inside a historic building that looks out toward Westfield shopping centre.

The location is highly accessible, though be forewarned: if you’re in the market to cop something other than a Rolex, you’ll need to saunter down the road to The Hour Glass’s King Street flagship.

Time Keeper Boutique

Address: The Strand Arcade, Shop 14, 412-414 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9233 2740
Opening Hours: Monday – Wednesday (9.30am – 5.30pm); Thursday (9.30am – 7.30pm); Friday (9.30am – 5.30pm); Saturday (10.00am – 5.00pm); Sunday (11.00am – 4.00pm)

Established in 2018 inside the iconic Strand Arcade, Time Keeper boutique is among a number of ‘secondary market’ retailers you’ll find whilst exploring the Sydney CBD.

A stone’s throw from the larger (arguably better known) Vintage Watch Co, the business provides a range of transacting options (i.e. buying; selling; trades) in addition to servicing – should the thought of having your watch airlifted back to Switzerland prove polarising.

Aside from the store’s rather excellent location on George Street – you can also access it via the Pitt Street mall side – the central appeal is deal-hunting. The Time Keeper team offers the usual assortment of popular vintage and modern watches, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find quixotic gems (all of them likely pre-owned).

In the past, I’ve dropped in at random to spy curios like a fully set Richard Mille or Patek Philippe Ellipse ‘Jumbo’ on its matching gold bracelet – and that’s just for starters.

Gregory Jewellers

Address: Shop 3015/3017, Westfield Bondi Junction, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, NSW 2022
Contact: (02) 9389 8822
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday (9.30am – 5.30pm); Sunday (10.00am – 5.30pm)
Other Locations: Blacktown; Brookvale; Burwood; Campbelltown; Castle Hill; Chatswood; Liverpool; Miranda; Parramatta; Penrith

A historic family enterprise established by four Syriac Aramean families from the city of Midyat, Gregory Jewellers – who certain old heads may remember as ‘Diamond Land Jewellers’ – operate a dozen boutiques across New South Wales – giving them one of the broadest footprints of any retailer on this list.

The Gregory Jewellers outpost at Bondi Junction offers a particularly extensive range of luxury watches, with brands like Zenith, Breitling and TAG Heuer (the latter of which Gregory has distributed since 1989) well-represented.

The Gregory family’s historic background in jewellery-making also means that this location has a robust selection of diamonds and other precious gems; plus some fun additions from fashion labels like Gucci.

Watches Of Switzerland

Address: 1 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9241 2525
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (11.00am – 6.00pm)
Other Locations: 199 George Street; Martin Place (in partnership w/ A. Lange & Söhne)

Originally consisting of a single storefront in Perth that set up shop in 1997, it will come as a shock to precisely zero readers that Watches of Switzerland is a retail network dedicated to…Swiss watches.

Looking at the group’s footprint in Sydney, there appears to be a big push toward cornering the travel/tourism-adjacent retail space – with just one of three boutiques located in the traditional epicentre of downtown foot traffic (i.e. Martin Place).

As far as we’re concerned though, the winning locale is at Barangaroo: opened at the tail-end of 2021, this Watches of Switzerland Sydney boutique is admittedly a little trickier to get to – though its location inside the monolithic Crown Towers hotel means you can celebrate your #NewWatchAlert with some hatted dining afterwards.

Watch Exchange

Address: Shop 5044, 5/F, Westfield Shopping Centre, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction NSW 2022
Contact: +61 424 808 888
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (10.00am – 6.00pm)

Another ‘secondary market’ operation in the vein of Time Keeper boutique, the Watch Exchange is a fantastic pitstop for denizens of the eastern suburbs – located on the upper levels of the sprawling Westfield precinct at Bondi Junction.

Working in large part with the usual high-end suspects (i.e. watches you’re likely to spot over a quick power lunch at Mimi’s) the Watch Exchange always has a robust selection of Rolex and Patek Philippe pre-owned timepieces on the go.

In addition to buying & selling, the shop also offers a variety of value-add services: including professional authentication, repairs, and even after-market gem-setting.

J Farren-Price

Address: 80 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9231 3299
Opening Hours: Monday – Wednesday (10.00am – 5.00pm); Thursday (10.00am – 6.00pm); Friday – Saturday (10.00am – 5.00pm)  

One of Australia’s oldest independent retailers of luxury watches (with origins dating back to the 1950s) the J Farren-Price flagship store has occupied its present position at No. 80 Castlereagh Street since 1976.

Even though Sydney’s luxury retail landscape has changed immeasurably in the past half-century, the Farren-Prices remain at its centre. The iconic watch store boasts the longest commercial partnership with Patek Philippe in Australia: having first become an authorised retailer of the brand in 1977. It has similarly lengthy associations with Longines and Tudor (both of which remain partner brands to this day).

That sensation of history, and of familial legacy, is something that is palpable whenever you visit the J Farren Price boutique. Now spread across two floors, it’s certainly not the flashiest of shopfronts: though the affable staff – who also offer a range of bespoke services on jewellery – more than make up for that with their extensive knowledge and tailormade approach to customer service.

Swiss Concept

Address: 90 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9221 6288
Opening Hours: Monday – Wednesday (10.30am – 5.30pm); Thursday (10.30am – 6.00pm); Friday (10.30am – 5.30pm); Saturday (10.30am – 5.00pm)
Other Locations: Hurstville

Set up in 1995 by a group of veteran importers from the watch-mad metropolis of Hong Kong, Swiss Concept combines attentive customer service with an extensive range of luxury brands, and uber-convenient location on Pitt Street.

Interestingly, aside from well-known marques like TAG Heuer and Audemars Piguet, the Swiss Concept portfolio is flush with a number of premium brands affiliated with the Swatch Group. For the contrarian watch collector, that means heritage brands like Blancpain and Breguet: both of which offer a lot of punch for the price tag – even at retail.

Wamada Jewellery

Address: 406 Sussex Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
Contact: (02) 9281 8182
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (10.30am – 6.00pm)
Other Locations: Chatswood Chase

One of Australia’s leading third-party retailers of Japanese flagships like Seiko and Citizen, Wamada has been beloved by many a Sydney watch collector since its inception in 1985. The brand operates two boutiques, with the more central of these located in Chinatown.

Rather than a palatial fit-out or cringe-inducing sales gimmicks (e.g. the complimentary whisky tasting) Wamada stakes its claim on our ‘best watch stores’ list with its highly directed roster of brands and budget-friendly approach.

Nowadays, any attempt to buy luxury watches – particularly of the Swiss variety – requires a budget of (ideally) $20,000, which is what makes Wamada’s offering all the more impressive. Yes, the obligatory perpetual calendar in 18k pink gold is available, but much more intriguing is everything on offer between the $7,000-$9,000 range. Grand Seiko GMT, anyone?

Kennedy Star Sydney

Address: The Star, Retail A, Unit 1 Shop 0, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Contact: (02) 9518 9499
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (11.00am – 7.00pm)
Other Locations: Martin Place

A no-brainer for visiting international customers – and enthusiasts who’ve had a windfall at the roulette table – Kennedy’s outpost inside The Star hotel and casino offers an expedient way to push the limits of your credit rating, with a range of fine European watches from the likes of Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre and, of course, Rolex.

As is standard practice for the latter brand, Kennedy offers all of its Rolex timepieces in a dedicated boutique, conveniently located right next to the brand’s bigger mainline shopfront.

Zaeger

Address: St. James Trust Building, 1/F, Suite 101, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Contact: 1300 923 437
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday (10.00am – 5.00pm)

In business for more than two decades – originally, in the wholesale diamond trade – Zaeger is a self-professed specialist in second-hand watches that backs the condition and provenance of its inventory in a very explicit way (the company even lists its own ACN on their website).

Although the bulk of Zaegar’s business is conducted online – the company’s Chrono24 profile is also regularly updated here – cautious buyers can organise to conduct a viewing at the dealer’s Castlereagh Street showroom. Just don’t expect the proverbial welcome wagon on weekends.

Frequently Asked Questions — Sydney’s Best Watch Shops