Popular second-hand watch e-tailer WatchBox now has a shop in Singapore
The trend of online retailers going offline with bricks-and-mortar stores shows no sign of abating. Concluding November, NomadX opened in Plaza Singapura while Habitat past Honestbee set up camp in Pasir Panjang. In March, Deliveroo Nutrient Market place launched in One-Due north. This September, Taobao descended on Funan Mall.
Vintage timepiece e-tailer WatchBox has at present joined their ranks, even as it occupies the luxury end of the market place. The visitor, founded in late 2022 by watch industry veterans Danny Govberg (of Govberg Jewelers), Justin Reis (an ex-finance executive) and Tay Liam Wee (formerly of Sincere Watch Ltd), launched their Collectors' Lounge at co-working space The Corking Room Ngee Ann City last Thursday (Nov 14).
Don't gauge the 200 sq. ft. hole-in-the-wall outfit past its size. While the concrete display showcases anywhere from 120 to 150 watches at any one time, customers have access to the 3,000 or so timepieces in WatchBox'southward global inventory, which is worth betwixt US$fourscore and U.s.a.$100 meg (S$108 million to S$136 million).
This is against the US$v billion (S$6.viii billion) global market for vintage watches, according to a 2022 approximate by market research firm Kepler Cheuvreux.
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"Our pieces are always flight across our six markets. If you see a slice that's non in Singapore, y'all tin brand a refundable deposit and nosotros volition ship the watch to Singapore. You can view the slice and take it if you like it. And so everything is accessible. If you lot don't like it, then you lot can get your eolith back," said Reis.
"Singapore has always been on our horizon," he added, when asked about the determination to set up a physical presence hither. "It is the sixth largest market place in the world, and over the years, the watch industry has been growing from forcefulness to strength."
"Per capita, Singapore is probably the most knowledgeable, sophisticated watch market in the world," added Govberg. "We had to come hither because it is the perfect playing field to add a whole dimension of fun then that watch collectors tin keep enjoying the hobby in a way that is not provided by whatsoever of the retailers currently in Singapore."
The urban center-state is the second location in the earth to avowal a Collectors' Lounge (after Hong Kong) and the sixth globally to accept an office, after the US, Hong Kong (WatchBox is headquartered in both locations), Switzerland, South Africa and Dubai. "Singapore is home to Liam Wee and myself, and we know the market very well. We knew that it would be very successful here," Reis explained.
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The founders felt that there was a niche in the market which they could fill. Govberg explained: "At the retail level, diamond jewellery and diamonds have always been able to be sold dorsum to the primary dealers. If you got engaged, divorced, wanted to trade your diamond in for a bigger i, you can always take it back to your local dealer."
But, he added, authorised watch dealers did not offer a similar service to watch collectors who wanted to merchandise in their timepieces. "And so you lot either took it to the side aisle or a pawn store to sell information technology. The authorised dealer never allows yous to sell it back to them, instead tells you to plough to the grey marketplace."
WatchBox, maintained Reis, addresses this event and provides the solution. "Singaporean consumers are looking for after-market customer relationships where [they] can be looked later on and… [have] their pre-owned picket collection [properly managed]," he said.
Bug similar authenticity, provenance and warranty are difficult to monitor when it comes to online, peer-to-peer marketplaces similar Carousell. "So at that place's a natural requirement for a platform to develop and handle what the customers actually want, to put timepieces into virtually-mint status, offer a warranty, be able to explain the provenance of the sentry, and also ensure that it is in mechanical working condition," explained Reis.
"You can return the piece within 14 days if the piece is not to your liking, no questions asked. Nosotros provide absolute assurance."
The almost pop brands in Singapore, co-ordinate to Govberg and Reis, are Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, likewise as A. Lange & Sohne, De Bethune, F.P. Journe and Richard Mille. Rolex sport models by far are the most sought-after, with "the market for Rolex stainless steel sport models [being] stronger than information technology has ever been". Govberg names the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116508 in 18K yellow aureate with a green dial – a.k.a the "Golden Hulk" – equally a highlight slice in Singapore.
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WatchBox'due south 1,000 sq. ft. function (also in The Great Room) holds some of the inventory, besides hosting a servicing squad. As for what sets the business firm autonomously from other second-hand watch dealers locally, Reis said that it was the knowledge and expertise offered by its sales advisors. "These are advisors coming from the industry – auction houses or other lookout man-related businesses – and they can hand-concord consumers through the discovery process."
For Govberg, information technology is all about the fun cistron. "Even their biggest collectors today want to take some fun – to be able to buy, sell and trade a lookout. We are adding networking, exchange and community… but the principal thing that WatchBox adds, that the spotter manufacture is forgetting… is fun. [Nosotros aim] to inject fun through hosting events, through teaching, through different services that we offer."
WatchBox , 391B Orchard Rd, Level 22, Ngee Ann City Belfry B, Singapore 238874. Tel: 6690 2486; WhatsApp: 9662 5466
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/watchbox-singapore-pre-owned-watches-176711
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