Well alrighty then. If you want to fly anywhere I will help you out with the very best two places on earth I have ever seen for watch treasure hunting.
1) NYC 47th St. between 5th and 6th. Chum up with a few friendly "outside" dealers on the sidewalk. These guys buy from each other as well as from out of town wholesalers and the general public coming there to unload what they don't want for instant cash. However this is dog-eat-dog and you gotta know what you're looking at within seconds or it's sold to someone else. This is the first link of the chain in nice stuff. No need to get there too early...9 am is fine but be prepared to spend the better part of the day on the street. One thing for sure is the good stuff is a steady stream all day every day, you just gotta chum up to penetrate the circle of outside buyers/dealers so they throw some stuff your way. No opening case backs, no baloney, you gotta know what you're looking at and fast. Cash only and on the spot. All brands will be seen of all ages and models. The NYC alternative would be the weekend Chelsea out door markets when they start up again after the covid. Gotta get there before 6am and pester the vendors as they set up. Later in the day just keep hanging out and watching for new arrivals. Good stuff there on any weekend but loads of competition.
2) Colon St. Cebu City Philippines. English speaking country. Plant yourself among the vendors and hawkers on the sidewalk in front of Gaisano's supermarket and let the locals know what you're looking for. It's hot, crowded, noisy, smelly and dirty but this is where the "canvassers" who are guys from all the neighboring towns and islands come to unload the stuff they found. Get there around 6am when the sun is coming up and vendors are starting to set up and be ready to spend hours in that tropical climate waiting for good stuff to arrive. Might take quite a few days before you score but you might get lucky and snag a few good pieces daily. Not quite as hurried as NYC 47th St as usually you can examine stuff for a bit longer and look inside the watch. However be prepared to pay cash quick as there will be people looking over your shoulders waiting for their shot. Most swiss brands but mainly Omega, Longines, Tissot, Tudor, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Breitling, JLC, along with Seikos of all types. Sometimes a very unusual swiss piece comes along...I would say maybe 3 or 4 times a week. However there is usually a good dose of vintage chronographs and of course divers. San Pedro neighborhood in Manila is actually much much better for watch treasure hunting but not safe for Foreigners. Cebu City is perfectly safe. Better if you can also chum up with a few locals as they hear of good stuff as it arrives. Cash Cash Cash and quick wins every time. Your advantage will be having the ready cash as many local dealers have a hard time rounding up the funds quickly.
An honorable mention would be Kowloon in Hong Kong on any given evening. Plenty of outside vendors set up in the night markets and loads upon loads of very good swiss stuff with an emphasis on Tudor, Rolex and Omega, but the language barrier is a challenge which is why HK ranks lower than NYC and Cebu City. Again...HK is quick and cash is king. The nice thing about HK markets is it's night time when it's cooler and of course much more leisurely than waking up at the crack of dawn.
In all my experience these are the hottest spots. However it's not always possible to be there at those places so I work on what's available around my home town.
