Adrian Barker’s Bark & Jack Youtube channel has over 80,000 subscribers thanks to his natural style of chatting from his living room with a cup of coffee in one hand and interesting watches in the other.
He combines a love of watches with a background in tech, having worked for Apple for four years and interior furnishings ecommerce site Loaf.com for four.
He left the London rat race behind in 2018, resurfacing in Glasgow, from where he launched his Youtube channel about watches.
Mr Barker does not court controversy, in fact leaving the stress of the corporate world behind is part of his story, which is why a video last week about the Horology House scandal was out of left field.
For those unfamiliar with the scandal, it is easiest to just watch Mr Barker’s video. In it, he tiptoes through allegations that the Australian social media-based luxury watch trader had sold a fake Rolex Daytona and taken many months to return the customer’s money.
The story blew up on Rolex forums where Horology House owner Chris Essery was accused of multiple failures to deliver watches as promised and in the process amassing considerable sums of money and making up stories to cover his tracks.
It is a story WatchPro has been watching develop, expecting at some point that Mr Essery might be arrested and charged, and thus turning what might be merely an online witch hunt into a genuine story of fraud.
In the absence of the story heading in that direction, and because Mr Essery has vanished from all his social media platforms, it is being driven by people on the forums, who have generated more digital column inches than Harry and Meghan in recent weeks.
We have steered clear, but think Bark & Jack piece is worth your time.
https://youtu.be/0IOA9U0pgSA
So, what is Watchpro saying on this story? You must know these people are out there.
I think watchpro is wise to stay away from this one.
I don’t know Mr Essery and only became aware of him via his excellent YouTube videos and Instagram photos, there is no denying the guy has a talent.
I have been following this whole debacle as it has unfolded and while not condoning his alleged actions it should be taken as a warning to any high profile YouTuber that does something to cause them to fall foul of some of the characters that inhabit these on line forums. Equally as a warning to watch enthusiasts like myself, who buy from the grey/used market, that you need to be very careful when making a purchase, Unfortunately ADs cant always be relied on either.
The following are some of the things I have picked up from various sources that I have found interesting. I am not trying to use these points to defend the guy but to merely provide a bit of balance to this whole sorry saga, I really hope that once the whole thing has settled a bit that he does publicly explain his side of the story.
Mr Essery was known for his disdain of all things Rolex from pricing/supply to relative quality and has previously fallen foul of the “Rolex Fan Boys” in the comments on his YouTube and Instagram accounts.
This whole story blew up on the Rolex Forum. The majority of subsequent accusations and insults being made from the anonymity of obscure and difficult to trace usernames
The accusations and intense abuse stem from a transcript of WhatsApp messages presented as a text file anyone could edit to fit their story.
Why would somebody of such high standing in the local watch community allegedly commit such a scam. I think, if this was part of a ongoing planned scam it would have been better executed and legitimate personal details would not be provided.
A forum member tried to put together a list of other people that had been sold fakes by this guy and failed as it would seem there are none reported.
The original transcript also contained personal info including banking & personal details that could have resulted in the abuse continuing off-line and being directed at family members. (shit, I wish I was a lawyer in Australia) If I were in the same position, I too would shut everything down to protect my family, my on-line content and business.
A couple of attempts were made to counter the accusations but were drowned out by further abuse, I’m not sure I would have taken them down though as this has allowed the forums to be filled with unanswered accusations and speculation which is now being reported by others in the community as fact.
Anyway, it was not my intention to defend the “allegedly” indefensible but this whole episode has left me completely disillusioned with a large part of the watch community and the people within it. maybe its just a reflection of social media generally
Well 12 people have started the legal ball rolling on prosecution… They guy sold a fake, and currently holds about $150k+ of others money. If you are going to report about it, at least do your research instead of making use of this as an advertisement for Bark and Jack!
We actually interviewed the man who came forward and exposed Chris to the world on our podcast – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRb0ceZESuA
Have a listen and see what you think from the horse mouth.
I tried to e-mail you to see if you can help me track down the 12 people that have started the ball rolling on a prosecution by your anonymous e-mail bounced. Perhaps you could contact me directly at rob.corder@itp.com.
Yes, it deserves more than a witch-hunt, and I’m sure it will have wider ramifications. These are my two cents on the matter.
https://rightontime.substack.com/p/the-one-with-horology-house
Tony Parker, you’re an absolute moron for defending this fraudster, Chris Essery. There are multiple screenshots of those messages (not just a text file as you misleadingly claim) and a mountain of evidence against Essery. Legal action has started and chances are that at some point in the future Essery will be arrested. Essery is a fraudster and the world knows it. Stop defending this ass.