Bahnhofstrasse
Which runs from the zã¼rich train main station "hauptbahnhof" right down to the lake. bahnhofsstrasse is famous for being one of the most exclusive and expensive shopping streets in the world. here you can get anything from diamond rings to chocolate to fur coats. globus and jelmoli are two fiercely competitive department stores, both of whom carry items from many high-end brands.
Niederdorf
Which is the old part of zurich and expands from "bellevue" by the lake right to "central" which is just over the river from the train station. the niederdorf is more for young people. aside from a lot of fast food places you will find a lot of trendy clothes stores here.
Schweizer Heimatwerk
Uraniastr 1 on the limmat river, (http://www.heimatwerk.ch/). also branches in the hauptbahnhof main station, airport, and rennweg 14 in the bellevue area. quality swiss handcrafts and other swiss-made products presented in a gallery-like setting. you won't find many cuckoo clocks and the like here cuckoo clocks are not really swiss, they are from the black forest (schwarzwald in germany!), the emphasis is on real traditional crafts and the work of modern craftspeople. you will find things like sleek modern hand-blown glassware and beautiful hand-carved wooden items from the appenzell region. a worthwhile visit even if you just browse.
For shopping in Zürich there are three different areas in the centre:
Löwenstrasse
Which runs west of bahnhofstrasse from the main train station, has lower range shops and a large branch of migros, a department store chain.
swiss army knives
Coop City in Bahnhofstrasse sells the Victorinox line at uninflated prices, although you won't get additional bells and whistles like customized faceplates or engraving. Many other department stores also carry them.
Any cutlery shop will probably carry both Victorinox and Wenger lines of products. However, do make sure they are not inflating the price. For example, a SwissChamp possibly the most popular model should be retailed around 78CHF.
Other
Pastorini Spielzeug
Weinplatz 3 near the river. a high-end toy store.
There is an English language bookstore at the intersection of Bahnhofstrasse and Rennweg.
Markets
Flohmarkt Bürkliplatz (Fleamarket)
Bã¼rkliplatz in the bellevue area near the stadelhofen station. may-oct sa 6am-3:30pm. fairly relaxed yet large flea market with many interesting stalls.
Flohmarkt Kanzlei (Fleamarket)
Helvetiaplatz, (http://www.flohmarktkanzlei.ch). open sa 8am-4pm. a big fleamarket that hosts up to 400 stalls on busy days.
Swiss clocks and watches
Swatch
Possibly your best bet for a "cheap" swiss watch 40-100chf and perhaps better suited for the younger generation. available in their stores on bahnhofstrasse and various other locations, or in department stores.
You may be disappointed to know that most of the cheap watches and clocks in Switzerland are imported from China and Japan for their cheap quartz movements including most of the wall clocks and alarm clocks sold at department stores, for example. Don't purchase a "Migros Budget" clock for 8CHF thinking it is a Swiss clock! Nevertheless, real Swiss-made clocks are still well-known for their quality and reliability, and intricate mechanics. The following are true Swiss-made watches:
M-Watch
Based on both mondaine and migros and available in migros electronics stores such as the one on the 2nd floor of the lowenplatz location. also relatively inexpensive 40-100chf. do not confuse this with "m-budget" which is an imported cheap watch.
Mondaine
Is known for their use of the famous sbb railway clock face. you can buy a replica of the sbb clock as a watch or a wall clock in most major railway stations, among other locations. however, you should note that most of them do not replicate the hallmark smooth movement of the second hand for 58.5 seconds followed by the 1.5 second pause that is characteristic of real sbb railway clocks, but they do replicate the clock face. they are quartz, and the price may seem a little inflated to you 130-180chf. the vast majority of sbb railway clocks are actually produced by mobatime moser-baer ag, not mondaine, even though mondaine's name appears on some of the larger clocks such as the treffpunkt in zurich hb. mondaine's wall and desk clocks, however, are only of "swiss design" and are manufactured in china and taiwan.
Mid-range brands
100-500chf can be found at clock and watch stores throughout the city. just walk in and have a look if you're interested.
Upper-end watches and clocks
Such as rolex, are also sold, but you should probably do more research into them than you can find here. if you just want to stare at some of the most expensive watches for sale, take a look at the bucherer store window at bahnhofstrasse and see what a 25,000chf watch looks like.