Serial entrepreneur and avid watch collector Tariq Khan has created a private members club for luxury watch enthusiasts.
The Collectors Club is not a member’s club in the sense of a private saloon in London’s St James’s, but a virtual network of watch connoisseurs who want to wear the world’s rarest timepieces.
Mr Khan developed his expertise in fine watches through his Time4Diamonds business, which customises prestige Swiss models for clients ranging from Premier League footballers to Middle Eastern royals.
That experience taught him three things: first, watch obsessives have an unquenchable thirst for wearing unattainable models; secondly, they are happy to trade their watch collections in order to keep improving them and acquiring new models; third, they may have tons of money, but they have no intention of losing any of it.
The Collectors Club offers collectors the opportunity to wear fine watches sourced from around the world for a number of days each year by investing in a cooperative fund that buys rare pieces on behalf of all members.
The pool of watches is available for members to borrow, while at the same time they are traded in order to generate profit that is returned to members in the form of an annual dividend.
There are three membership tiers: Platinum for £100,000 per year; Gold for £50,000 and Silver for £20,000.
Platinum members can borrow up to 10 watches for 10 days each; Gold can borrow seven watches for seven days; Silver can borrow five watches for five days.
Members receive different annual dividends of 8% for Platinum, 5% for Gold and 3% for Silver. These returns, the company says, are made by trading watches bought using member deposits on the Time4Diamonds platform.
Members also have access to concierge services, which promises to get them access to exclusive events.
Initially, members will have access to between 18 and 20 of some of the world’s rarest and exclusive watches. As the Club grows the collection will expand.
The current collection includes prestige pieces from Richard Mille, Patek Philippe and Rolex. Time4Diamonds is not an authorised retailer for the brands its trades. It buys and sells watches from around the world.
“The Collectors Club is a chance to bring together like-minded people who appreciate the same things I do: luxury watches, luxury cars, events and give them the opportunity to experience them all as part of an exclusive network. I’ve experienced all these things myself and I just want the members to share some of them too,” says Mr Khan.
