Shipping & import
Getting the watch out of Japan and into your hands
Short answer
Watches ship double-boxed, fully insured for the price you paid, and tracked, by courier from Japan. Transit is typically 2–6 working days to North America, Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. All shipments are DAP — Delivered At Place, the term that replaced DDU — so import duty, VAT or GST and any brokerage fee are billed to you by the carrier on arrival. We never under-declare value, because doing so is fraud and voids the insurance. Watches over 100 years old may qualify for antique treatment in your country; we supply dated proof of age so your broker can claim it.
- Incoterms
- DAP (Delivered At Place). Duty and tax payable by you on arrival. Some dealers and carriers still write DDU, the name retired from Incoterms in 2010; it means the same thing here.
- Carriers
- FedEx, DHL or Japan Post EMS, chosen by value and destination.
- Transit time
- 2–6 working days to most destinations; 7–14 for remote regions.
- Insurance
- Full declared value, door to door. Higher-value pieces routed by carriers with higher limits.
- Declared value
- Exactly what you paid. No exceptions.
- Documents
- Commercial invoice, packing list, dated statement of the watch's age, service record if applicable.
How the watch is packed
Vintage watches are damaged in transit far more often than they are lost. The failure modes are shock to the balance staff, moisture, and crushing.
- Movement wound down, crown screwed in, hands set away from any date change.
- Watch in a padded travel case, bracelet secured so it cannot swing against the crystal.
- Inner box, desiccant sachet, then a rigid outer carton with at least 30 mm of void fill on every face.
- No branding on the outer carton. Nothing on the label suggests a watch is inside.
- Photographs of the packed parcel, sealed, sent to you before dispatch.
- Original box and papers shipped in the same parcel unless you ask for them separately.
Duty and tax, by destination
Rates and thresholds change, so the table below is orientation, not advice. Your carrier's brokerage team or your own customs broker gives the binding answer.
| Destination | What typically applies | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Duty on watches, no federal VAT | Goods over 100 years old are generally classified as antiques and enter duty free with proof of age. |
| United Kingdom | Import VAT plus duty | Antiques over 100 years old may attract a reduced VAT treatment; ask your broker. |
| European Union | Import VAT plus duty, member-state rates | Several member states apply a reduced VAT rate to antiques and collectors' items. |
| Australia | GST, plus duty above the low-value threshold | GST applies to most imports regardless of value. |
| Canada | GST/HST plus duty | Provincial tax may be collected by the carrier. |
| Singapore / Hong Kong | GST in Singapore; Hong Kong generally free of import duty | Two of the simplest destinations for watch imports. |
Why "antique over 100 years" matters. Many customs regimes treat objects more than a century old as antiques with their own tariff classification and a lower or zero duty rate. For a pre-1926 pocket watch this can change the landed cost materially — but you must be able to prove the age. Every shipment from us includes a dated statement of the watch's identification and estimated production year, with the evidence behind it.
What cannot leave Japan
Two restrictions come up regularly with vintage watches.
CITES materials
Straps and decorative parts made from ivory, tortoiseshell or the skins of protected species are restricted under CITES. Permits are not realistically obtainable for a single watch, and attempting export risks seizure at either end. Where a watch arrives on such a strap, we fit a compliant strap and ship it that way; the original stays in Japan.
Radioluminescent dials
Some pre-1960s watches use radium lume. Levels in a single watch are low, but couriers have their own rules and a few refuse carriage. Where a dial is radium, we say so in the condition report and route the parcel accordingly.
If something goes wrong in transit
Delay
Almost always customs, and almost always resolved by you paying the duty invoice or supplying an ID document the carrier requests. We chase on your behalf.
Damage
Photograph the outer carton before opening, keep all packaging, and tell us within 48 hours. Insurance claims fail mainly for lack of photographs.
Loss
Fully insured at the paid value. We file the claim and keep you updated; you are not left negotiating with a courier in Japanese.
Refused entry
Rare, and normally a paperwork issue. If a parcel must return to Japan, we re-document and re-ship at cost.
Shipping questions
- Will you mark the parcel as a gift or under-declare the value?
No. It is customs fraud, it exposes you to penalties in your own country, and it voids the transit insurance — meaning a lost watch would be reimbursed at the false value, or not at all. Every parcel carries a commercial invoice that matches what you paid.
- How much is shipping?
Charged at cost. As a guide, a single watch with full insurance runs roughly JPY 9,000–14,000 to North America, Europe and Australia, rising with declared value because insurance is value-based. High-value pieces above about JPY 1,500,000 cost more because they must move on a carrier with higher insurance limits.
- Can you ship to an address that is not mine?
Yes, if you tell us in writing in advance. We will not change a delivery address on an email request received after dispatch — that is the most common shipping-fraud pattern we see.
- Can I combine several watches into one shipment?
Yes, and it usually lowers total shipping cost. Bear in mind that a higher single declared value can cross a duty threshold in your country, so occasionally two parcels are cheaper overall. We will model both before dispatch.
- Do you ship worldwide?
To most destinations. Some countries have import restrictions on used goods or unworkable insurance limits, and a handful are excluded by sanctions or carrier policy. We will tell you at the brief stage, not after you have paid.
Page last reviewed 8 September 2026. Customs rules change — treat this page as orientation and confirm specifics with your broker.