Watchbox digital corner

Pre-owned luxury watch specialist WatchBox signs its first authorised dealer partner

Watchbox aims to create a global network of retail partners buying and selling top end pre-owned timepieces.

Pre-owned luxury watch specialist WatchBox has singed its first authorised dealer partner in the United States.

The business is co-owned by American and Singaporean investors and plans to expand into a global business by working with retail partners in every major market.

Watchbox’s co-founder, Danny Govberg, has been building up a suite of services designed to help luxury watch retailers profit from the pre-owned market. The business bought an app called Chronofy that helps retailers offer the correct prices for trade-ins.

It has also been working on physical and digital shop-in-shop solutions for the sale of authenticated, certified and guaranteed pre-owned watches.

“We are going to start opening Watchboxes in stores,” Mr Govberg tells WatchPro in an interview for the December edition of WatchPro USA magazine. “Retailers that we feel comfortable with are going to be allowed to have a Watchbox boutique in their stores, just as they currently have a Breitling or Omega boutique in their stores. That could be an in-store unit with cabinets of pre-owned watches, a consultation space where customers can browse Watchbox’s inventory on a screen, or both. We will open up the Watchbox platform to retailers that want to work with us,” he adds.

“What we are going to do is try to become a solution for the retailer to take a trade-in quickly; get them the price so they can do the deal for their client,” Mr Govberg continues. “They send us the watch and we wire them the money the next day. The retailer then can give the full value to the customer. Most retailers are not looking to make money on the trade, they are just looking to give the customer good service.”

Watchbox’s first partner, Hing Wa Lee Jewelers, is an authorised dealer for Rolex and more than 25 other premium watch brands with two showrooms in Los Angeles.

The business will be helped to take trade-in watches from customers that can then be brought back to mint condition in Watchbox’s workshops; and it can offer clients the full global inventory of pre-owned watches backed by the Watchbox warranty in its stores and through a shop-in-shop “Digital Corner” within its website (pictured top).

“WatchBox is thrilled to bring our pre-owned buying, selling, and trading practices to Hing Wa Lee Jewelers,” says Watchbox global president and CEO.

“Their stellar reputation and standard of excellence make Hing Wa Lee the perfect inaugural partner for our network. Through this partnership, WatchBox formalises the intersection of the primary and secondary watch markets, which means that Hing Wa Lee is now equipped to offer what today’s watch consumer is seeking – a trustworthy partner for the buying, selling and trading of both new and pre-owned timepieces under one roof.”

David Lee, chairman and CEO of the Hing Wa Lee Group, adds: “Hing Wa Lee Jewelers is excited to partner with WatchBox to provide trading and selling services of pre-owned watches to our clients.”

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