The likes of eBay, Chrono24, and even Walmart have made adding luxury men’s watches pretty simple. But if you’re hunting for an ultra-rare “grail watch” or something truly desirable, then you may need a little help. Enter Wrist Aficionado, a business that claims that it can source you a dream watch within 24 hours of your order being placed, in a lot of cases.
So, if you’re searching for a highly sought-after Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, or even a comparatively generic Rolex watch, then Wrist Aficionado has your back. The company currently has three physical locations in New York, Florida, and Beverly Hills, California.
The Manual recently caught up with Eddie Goziker, who founded the business alongside Vadim Yakubov, to discuss how the company came about and delve into the “white glove” service it provides for a growing list of customers.
It all started as a hobby
“We founded in 2017. We were childhood friends, and we started this as a hobby. We sold business to business for the first year or so — we were wholesaling,” Goziker explained. While selling business to business made sense initially, it wasn’t long before the pair’s new business started attracting attention from enthusiasts. That attention led to Goziker and Yakubov finding a location better suited to their company’s evolving needs.
Goziker told The Manual: “We had a 1,500-square-foot office for the first year or so that lasted us until the middle of 2019. We started looking for retail space because through social media we got a lot of retail clients.”
The evolution of Wrist Aficionado didn’t stop there. It wasn’t long before the entrepreneurs realized that they could do much more than simply offer the stock they had on hand to a growing client base. Goziker outlined how the services offered by Wrist Aficionado developed.
“We have a very big network. After our second year of business or so, we realized we have this big global network, and within a week, we can have any watch in the States. Transport is easy, shipping is easy, it’s all insured — we don’t take any risks with that. It’s all been pretty straightforward — there really isn’t much we can’t find very quickly.”
For the most part, Wrist Aficionado is sourcing contemporary watches — so rare timepieces that have been released within the last few years. In recent times, even buying something as relatively common as a Rolex Oyster Perpetual could involve spending time on a supplier’s waiting list. Limited-edition watches and higher-end models require a lot of time on a list and a good relationship with the dealer. Or if waiting isn’t your thing, you could turn up at Wrist Aficionado and have a new timepiece in hand that week.
“Whoever’s on the waiting list, we can usually get the watches within a couple of days. So people who don’t want to wait don’t have to wait.”
A true “white glove” experience
While finding rare watches and getting the timepieces on their clients’ wrists is the main service Wrist Aficionado provides, it’s also a touch more in depth than that. It’s a high-end service with a customer base that expects certain things.
So, just as when you’re buying a Rolls-Royce, you’ll sit somewhere comfortably within a beautifully decorated store, and then someone will offer you a drink. When you’re suitably relaxed, an expert will make a note of your preferences. You’re paying high-end prices, so it’s important that you get the product you want. Beyond the model and style, it can include details down to the exact year of manufacture.
Then, what you want done to the watch when it’s sourced is considered. Yes, most of the time Wrist Aficionado is dealing with modern timepieces, but it will source a vintage piece on request. Do you want it serviced? Would you like it polished? Is a patina on the dial important? It’s all up to you.
“Most of our clients are repeat customers. Everything is hand picked and hand sourced. We go through the gambit of trying to make it as seamless as possible for the customer. They’re paying a lot of money, so we try to give them that luxury white glove experience,” Goziker told The Manual.
The service is complimentary
While the service is on par with many other luxury shopping experiences, it’s not something you pay extra for. Goziker pointed out that any commission is baked into the price. “Most watches on the secondary market have a set price already, so whether we have it in stock or we have to source it, there’s no additional fee for us to go out and get it. If the price trades at $100,000 on the market, there’s no additional fee for us to go out and find it if we don’t have it in stock.”
As with the timepieces Wrist Aficionado has in stock, there is a margin in place to ensure the business makes a profit. But that margin doesn’t change, even if the company has to put a lot of effort into finding and acquiring a special piece for a client. “Even if they’re paying a percent or two more, we want to make sure they get their value out of it. It’s got to be white glove to the point where they can get their money’s worth,” the founder told us.
When it comes to “finding” a watch within 24 hours, that isn’t a guarantee, but it’s something Goziker is confident applies to a lot of cases. Indeed, if it takes much longer than that, then they’re dealing with one of the most elusive timepieces on Earth. Goziker said: “If we can’t find something within a couple of days, it means no one else is finding it. That means it may not exist or there’s so much demand for it that it’s eaten up all of the supply.”
And that couple of days mark isn’t a deadline. Wrist Aficionado doesn’t give up if it hasn’t found its client’s dream watch within a week. When asked if it’ll keep looking until a client has exactly what they requested in hand, a smiling Goziker stated: “Always, we’ll find it eventually.”
