By Greg Iacurci
Jamie and her husband are traveling to Switzerland in December for a ski vacation. But hitting the slopes isn’t the only motivator: The couple say they are also trying to sidestep steep U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods.
They intend to buy a luxury watch — a Patek Philippe Nautilus — from the watchmaker in Geneva, Jamie said, as a present for her husband’s birthday.
Their budget for the watch: $50,000 to $75,000.
If successful, buying abroad may save them many thousands of dollars relative to purchasing an imported Swiss timepiece. The Trump administration on Aug. 7 imposed a 39% tariff on Switzerland, among the highest rates in the world.
The couple say they had been thinking of a ski getaway in the Swiss mountains for some time. But the possibility of scoring a Patek watch at a hefty tax discount “was a motivator and added bonus,” said Jamie, a 42-year-old New Yorker. (She asked to use only her first name for privacy reasons.)
Interest among the affluent to travel for tariff-busting shopping sprees has spiked in recent weeks, said Erica Jackowitz, a travel advisor to wealthy clientele.
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