An Hour with Watches of Switzerland Barangaroo

Watches of Switzerland has recently opened a new store in an iconic location in Barangaroo, Sydney. This branch is a more Rolex-centric boutique hence the bigger space in the store.

The purpose of this visit is to check the new Rolex collection. I received an email from Watches of Switzerland saying they have a few models for viewing. I figured it’s an excellent opportunity to visit the store as I haven’t been to this branch before. Just a note that Watches of Switzerland in The Rocks is still there.

The location is as prestigious as I expected. Situated on the first floor of the Crown Sydney, it’s just as beautiful as the Crown building.

Upon entering, the person who opened the door immediately directed me to a salesperson. What surprised me was that he knows my name—quite a nice touch.

I started having a chat with the salesperson about inspecting a few pieces. I immediately went for the new Rolex “Sprite” GMT-Master II with the green and black bezel. This is a no-brainer as this is a new release. I will not go through much detail, but I can say that this watch looks as beautiful as in the picture. Sadly this version doesn’t come with the Jubilee bracelet.

My first impression is that it’s long and big for my wrist. However, this size shouldn’t be a problem for most people with an average wrist size. This feeling is more or less similar to any modern stainless steel Rolex divers or the larger Oyster Perpetuals. Initially, I was also bothered with the date sequence, but the more I looked at it, the more I accepted the design decision. Not to say I like the decision on the date placement, but I see the market for it.

The next watch I inspected was the new Air-King. I had a chat with the salesperson about the appeal of the new Air-King, and he made some excellent points.

• This model is the only Rolex with the yellow crown and the green Rolex text.
• An improved the symmetry by adding “0” before the “5”.
• Rolex included the crown between “Swiss Made”.
• Addition of the crown guard.

Though the Air-King will not be discontinued in the coming years, he believes this will make a good collector’s item.

Disclaimer: I have a little history with the retailer from another city, and he can see all my accounts of my dealings with the retailer. I would recommend checking my post here for some ideas. I will skip the details of putting my name down for specific models as this will vary from country to country.

After Rolex, I had a look around the store at what other brands they were selling. They have a little everything from Breitling to Hublot and even A. Lange & Soehne. However, the Lange booth is sadly empty.

I ended up in the Cartier section, where I was interested in a few pieces. I tried on a few Cartier Santos and fell in love with the quartz model. Sadly we didn’t settle on a price, but I did get his details just in case I changed my mind.

Overall, the experience is excellent. The staff didn’t offer a glass of sparkling water, which is a surprise but doesn’t bother me a bit as I haven’t accepted one before. If I wanted to get the Cartier down the line, I would return to the store and look for the salesperson who made the experience great.