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DESCARTES STAFF REPORTER - Swiss Tour 2014 Staff reporter Descartes had the great pleasure of visiting Switzerland and brings this live report to the Archie Luxury Channel. Descartes spent most of his time in Switzerland's financial hub, Zurich and in its capital city, Bern. Unfortunately, he did not have time to make it to Geneva. Still, Zurich is a watch lover's paradise, filled with the greatest watch shops on earth. A little about Zurich... It is the home to UBS, Credit Swiss and other banks where wealthy people from around the world come to invest their money (and sometimes hide too, in secret Swiss account). This, Zurich is a hub of wealth, and as such, it is home to incredible luxury shopping, hotels and restaurants. It is an ancient city which is a model of organization, cleanliness and timeliness. (You can set your watch to the train schedule which runs accurately to the minute). Descartes popped an Ambien when he departed the U.S. and awoke 5 hours later as his Swiss Air flight flew above Paris. As he opened the shade to look outside, he saw the sun rising over the Alps. His flight crossed the Alps and flew across the Swiss country side, farms and then over lake Zurich to the airport. The setting of Zurich is spectacular.... on a lake, surrounded by the white-capped Alps. As a magnet of international wealth held in secret, numbered accounts, Zurich is a magnet for the very highest-end consumers. Everything is here... Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Leica etc. (See pictures). Then there is the watch shopping, which is sublime... Beyer, Bucherer, Gubelin.... all incredible and home to Patek, Rolex, JLC, Vacheron. Descartes found Beyer, in particular to be quite special. It has its own watch museum in the basement which can be seen in the photos. It is walk through the history of watch-making dating back hundreds of years.... Some of the modern displays included the Explorer which accompanies Sir Edmund Hillary to Mt. Everest, a Rolex two tone Bubbleback, a 6263 Daytona and many, many others. Upstairs, Descartes was served Pellegrino and Swiss chocolates which he tried on some amazing pieces including the new Platinum Daytona and a Patek 3448 perpetual calendar (which was being offered for sale at nearly $250,000 Swiss francs). The staff could not have been more friendly or accommodating! Prices in Switzerland were out of sight... 1.5 times the cost of the sale piece in the US. Descartes was really hoping to buy a keepsake piece. He was hoping to locate a 1960's gold Jaeger Le Coultre Memovox since they are classic pieces at a reasonable price points (at least in the US), but he only found one in reasonable condition and the seller was asking $7,500 Swiss Francs, which is quite a bit more than a similar piece would cost in the U.S. Descartes also paid a Sunday morning visit to the incredible Dolder Grand hotel-- one of the great hotels of the world-- for a Bloody Mary and a read of the International Version of the NY Times. It is on a hill overlooking all of Zurich. What a hotel!