Designer jewelry is extremely expensive for people who don’t have the luxury to purchase a piece of jewelry that would cost them thousands of riyals, and that's why many people decide to buy secondhand. This way they save money and still get a top quality product. A great place to source used watches and authentic branded jewelry is Al-Shoula Center on Madinah Road in Jeddah.
The center is packed with secondhand goods from designer jewels and watches to real and first hand gold and diamonds.
“We all offer the same kind of product but what you find in our shop cannot be found in the next one because we depend on people who come and sell their goods to use,” said Abu Ahmed, a shopkeeper at the Shoula center. “All shopkeepers are friends and we guide people to each others shops so we can help each other to make a big sale. Our business depends on trading used watches for cash and people know what they want the minute they walk into our stores which makes it easy for us to show them our products or to guide them to neighboring shops."
Watch fans that collect watches as a hobby like to visit those shops to buy secondhand watches for a complete collection.
“Those shops have many different watch brands weather expensive or cheap. I always like to go there when I want to buy a new watch because most of the watches there are old and classic designs and no longer sold at the real shops,” said Monther Abdul-Monem, a 47-year-old businessman. “I have bought so many watches that I literally have a drawer filled with them and what makes me go back there is that most of them are sold in their original boxes and have guarantee that they are authentic aside from being almost 50 percent cheaper than the ones you can find in the real boutique."
Designer goods from watches and jewelry are normally highly priced and can cost a fortune, which makes people who want to look like royalty look for another way to afford the real thing.
“I hate buying fake jewelry and I would never do that even if I cannot afford the real thing. I would rather collect money salary after salary so I can afford the real handbag or watch I have my eye on,” said Salwa Al-Ali, 34-year-old college teacher. “Buying secondhand bags is thus a very smart way of saving money and enjoying great benefits."
Designer jewelry is really expensive, and buying them often requires a lot of planning according to Layla Abdullah, a 29-year-old banker.
“I often need to save up my money for a long time before I buy my favorite dream designer earrings, but then life gives us some shortcuts like an easy way out for those who struggled long enough; and that is by approaching secondhand,” she said. “I have recently found out about the stores that offer secondhand jewelry and I was thrilled that I can finally afford the things I always want to own and not spend that much money on them,” she added.
“At first I was concerned about the quality of them since there were pre-owned but I found out that the shops actually clean and polish them before they display them on their windows and that makes the goods look brand new and spotless,” said Layla.
According to financial expert Faris Sadek, buying secondhand jewels and watches is a smart financial move for people with limited budgets. “In the world of the rich and famous, they are not hard to afford. While, there still are those ordinary, middle class people with limited budget that does not have the capacity to own one. Buying secondhand goods is very common among those middle class people because with that they hit two birds with one stone by saving money and buying a high-quality luxury,” he added.
