Bezel – The Trusted Marketplace for Luxury Watches

We look at Bezel, a new marketplace for high-end timepieces that's built one of the most robust authentication systems in the world.

David Shuck

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Buying something online has always been somewhat of a gamble. Whether that’s a piece of vintage off eBay, some vitamins on Amazon, or a taxidermied pufferfish on Etsy, it can be hard to judge from a handful of grainy pictures that you’re adding to cart exactly what you intended.

Oddly enough, one of the safest places to “add to cart” is where that item can be upwards of a million dollars. Meet Bezel, the world’s most trusted marketplace for luxury watches that stakes their entire business on delivering exactly what their buyers ordered.

We’re looking at how in a few short years, Bezel built one of the largest selections of high-end timepieces of anywhere in the world and the systems that guarantee their authenticity for buyers and sellers alike.

The Solution for Exclusivity

As we’ve written in the past, buying a luxury watch is rarely as simple as walking into the store with cash in hand. To buy from the biggest makers, you need to join waitlists, have a history of purchases, and be on the right side of more than a few sales associates. Such was the discovery of Quaid Walker, a product manager at Google, who left empty handed after attempting to buy his first Rolex, “I expected a high-end, celebratory process, but I was put on a waitlist and ended up navigating the intimidating secondary market instead.”

And unlike getting it from the source, that secondary “grey market” requires a deep knowledge of product, buyers, and a decent amount of risk to assure you’re getting the item you want.

But that experience gave him an idea that combined his background in technology and collecting other items like sneakers and streetwear to create a modern, trusted marketplace for watches using technology and a seamless customer experience. After a year of discussion with a friend in finance and another in software engineering, the trio founded Bezel to be the solution.

Bezel Runs on Trust

The Bezel platform (on web and their app) connects buyers and sellers with over $500 million worth of listings. From Tags to Tourbillons, they have it all, and if you don’t see something specific you want, their concierge team can source it for you.

In order to list on Bezel, a seller has to post extensive images of their watch including setting it to a randomized time to prove they actually have it in their possession. After the listing is approved by the Bezel team, the watch is available for a set price or, at the seller’s discretion, go up for auction on the site.

When a buyer completes the purchase or makes the winning bid, the watch is overnighted to Bezel’s HQ in Los Angeles, where it begins their lengthy authentication process. The system is headed by Ryan Chong, Bezel’s Head of Watch Operations, and the former director of private watch sales at Sotheby’s, and his team of in-house experts to test a timepiece for:

• Originality – has any of the watch’s parts been replaced with non-manufacturer or period inaccurate parts?

• Listing Consistency – is the watch in as good of condition as the one in the seller’s listing?

• Functionality – does the watch keep time and maintain its water resistance as one would expect with its age?

• Loss Registry – has the watch been listed as lost or stolen, thus voiding the sale?

If the watch passes all the checks, the seller receives their payment and the watch is overnighted again to the buyer with Bezel’s certificate of authenticity. Currently, 24% of the watches sold on Bezel don’t pass their authentication standards and are returned to the seller, which should tell you the riskiness of spending potentially thousands of dollars on the grey market.

They currently only ship to and from the United States but can make arrangements for proxy buyers from abroad.

Find Your Next Watch

If you’re in the market for your a luxury timepiece, any you haven’t spent years staring at watch movements through a jeweler’s loupe, there’s no reason to go anywhere but Bezel. And if you’re a seller, their fee of 5.5%-10.5% are some of the lowest in the industry.

Quaid and his cofounders have built something that can give peace of mind to the entirety of the watch community and brought trust back to online shopping. If they can do the same for vintage denim, we’ll welcome them with open arms!

Download the Bezel App or browse through their listings on their website. They’re currently offering $500 off your first purchase over $7,500 with the code HOLIDAY500 through December 2.

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