Timeless Treasure

Timeless Treasure is a specialist watch shop on the Valletta Waterfront, the handsome row of restored stone harbour stores just outside the capital, in the town of Floriana. It concentrates on four well-known brands: Omega, Hublot, Breitling and Bell & Ross. Rather than a general jeweller with a tray of watches by the till, this is a place to look at serious timepieces, from slim dress watches to large diving and pilot's chronographs, and it is one of the more focused businesses in our guide to jewellery shops in Malta.

No prices are shown online. Every model is marked for an availability enquiry, which is normal at this end of the market, so the best approach is to decide what interests you and ask before you visit.

The four brands on offer

Omega makes up the largest part of the range. There are De Ville dress watches, including the Ladymatic and the Prestige, and a wide spread of Seamaster pieces: the Diver 300M in sizes from a small 28 mm quartz to a 41 mm co-axial, the Planet Ocean 600M in 43.5 mm and 45.5 mm, the Aqua Terra 150M in several sizes, and a Seamaster 300. The Moonwatch Professional at 42 mm and the Globemaster Master Chronometer at 39 mm also appear, and there is a long run of Constellation models in 24 mm to 38 mm, in plain steel, steel with yellow or red gold, and solid red gold.

The Hublot selection leans on the Big Bang and Classic Fusion families, with ceramic, titanium, King Gold and carbon versions, several diamond-set pieces and ladies' models in 38 mm and 41 mm, alongside a King Power. Breitling is represented by the Superocean and Superocean Heritage, the Navitimer, including the Cosmonaute and the 1884, the Chronomat, the Colt, the Galactic, the Avenger, the Exospace and the Emergency. Bell & Ross completes the picture with Heritage, Vintage, Aviation, Military and Commando pieces, the Regulateur, the Skull and several BL and GMT references.

How buying a watch here works

Because the shop works on availability rather than a fixed online catalogue, think of the website as a guide to the kind of stock it handles. If you have a particular reference in mind, such as a specific Aqua Terra dial size or a Navitimer in black steel, ask whether it is in the shop before you make the trip. That saves a wasted journey if you are only in Malta for a few days, or if you are calling in during a cruise stop with limited time ashore.

When buying any luxury watch abroad, it is sensible to ask what paperwork comes with it, to keep your receipt safe, and to remember UK customs allowances when you fly home. Malta uses the euro, and prices for watches of this kind are always quoted on request, so have a budget in mind before you start looking.

Where the shop is: the Valletta Waterfront

The Valletta Waterfront is a line of eighteenth-century harbour stores built under Grand Master Pinto, painted doors and all, which now house restaurants, cafés and shops facing the Grand Harbour. It sits right beside the cruise liner terminal, so on ship days it is busy with passengers, and on quieter days it is a pleasant place for a long lunch by the water. Floriana, the town above, is the fortified suburb that guards the landward approach to Valletta.

From the capital, the simplest route on foot is to take the Upper Barrakka Lift down from the Upper Barrakka Gardens and walk along the quay. Our Valletta guide covers the rest of the city, including St John's Co-Cathedral, and across the water the Three Cities guide explains how to reach Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua by ferry.

Combining a visit with the rest of your stay

Shopping for a watch is often part of a wider treat, and Valletta has a cluster of jewellers within easy reach. In Floriana itself, Victor Azzopardi Jewellers is close by, while in the capital Frank Zampa Jewellery is on St Lucia's Street. Our page on antique shops in Malta is useful if you are looking for older pieces rather than new watches.

If you want to stay close to the harbour, the hotels in Valletta page lists places within walking distance of the Waterfront, and our list of things to do in Malta fills in the rest of the trip. To check whether a watch is in stock, or to ask anything else, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message on to the shop.