With demand for high-priced products declining, platforms for pre-owned luxury watches are drawing attention. Analysts say consumers feeling burdened by new-product prices are turning to used watches, and trust in transactions is strengthening around platforms that offer authenticity appraisal and guarantees. They note that advancing appraisal and guarantee systems capable of fundamentally blocking counterfeit distribution is a task that will determine future growth.
According to the startup industry on the 18th, platforms for pre-owned luxury watches are being mentioned as investment targets, centered on venture capital firms. Taming Lab, operator of the pre-owned luxury watch commerce WhatTime, raised a seed round in Feb. last year from Kakao Ventures and Mashup Ventures. The amount was not disclosed. Vibar, a subsidiary of Dunamu that runs a pre-owned luxury watch transaction platform, brought in 4 billion won from Musinsa in Dec. last year. Musinsa participated in Vibar's paid-in capital increase through Musinsa Limited Partnership No. 1, in which it holds 100% equity.
Founded in 2022, Taming Lab operates WhatTime, a platform that supports every step of the transaction for pre-owned luxury watches, from purchase to appraisal and repair. It sells pre-owned luxury watches that it purchases directly. Through a real-time appraisal and pricing system, it sources watches from consumers and connects them with more than 20 professional resellers across four or more countries, including Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, and China.
Vibar is the operating company of a pre-owned luxury watch transaction platform that Dunamu established in June 2021. The prevailing view is that it was set up to invest in the physical asset transaction market beyond virtual assets. Based on consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions, Vibar also opened stores in Apgujeong and Jamsil in Seoul. The Apgujeong location focuses on experience and consultation, while the Jamsil location is operated to sell watches. Consumers can try on watches and purchase them on site.
However, neither Taming Lab nor Vibar has achieved meaningful revenue yet. Taming Lab posted sales of 80 million won in 2023 and about 94 million won in 2024, but recorded an operating loss of more than 10 million won.
Vibar also recorded about 20.4 billion won in cumulative comprehensive loss from 2022 to 2024. Comprehensive loss is the total amount a company actually loses over a year. In Dec. last year, Dunamu injected 16 billion won into Vibar as operating funds and acquired 4.5 million shares of common stock.
Despite repeated losses, the industry analyzes that pre-owned luxury watches carry both real-demand and asset characteristics, which is translating into investment interest in platforms. While luxury preference is waning due to price hikes by luxury brands and weaker consumer sentiment, watch prices show limited volatility in the global market and some models maintain strong prices even in the secondary market.
Pre-owned luxury watch platforms also have the potential to expand into finance based on physical assets. Once an appraisal and guarantee system is in place, it is easier to expand into asset tokenization (RWA). Short-term profitability is limited, but in the mid to long term, the possibility of growing into infrastructure that connects physical asset transactions and finance is cited as the investment rationale.
The task ahead is to advance the appraisal and guarantee system to block counterfeit distribution. Shoes transacted on the online luxury platform BALAAN, which is undergoing a corporate rehabilitation process, and on the limited-edition transaction platform KREAM have been embroiled in counterfeit controversies. As a result, the importance of securing trust has grown across the pre-owned luxury transaction market.
An industry official said, "Who bears the guarantee responsibility and to what extent, along with standardizing appraisal criteria, will determine long-term survival." The official added, "The market can be sustained only when trust infrastructure is built, enabling financial expansion such as asset tokenization," and "the success or failure of platforms depends more on the completeness of verification systems than on transaction volume."