Perfectly Etched In Time: 'A Collected Man' & Its Classic Brand Story

With a reputation for creating dynamic designs and a keen interest in vintage mechanical timepieces, this London based company brings to you the best of both worlds. With a solid eye for rare collectables and a passion for delivering the best service designs, A Collected Man has come a long way in terms of its brand journey. 

From being a small start-up company that was initially called ‘Watch Xchange’ in 2014, it has tremendously expanded its wings through sheer ardour, grit and dedication along with the intention towards providing the absolute best classic watches in the world.

The main aim for developing A Collected Man was not just to be an online platform for luxury retail watches but also to be the flag bearer of supporting independent brands and bringing them to life by providing them with a platform to shine. Another essential factor is to build trust with the audiences. With its impeccable service, the brand has managed to create an extensively positive user experience over the years which has by default resulted in people wanting to buy the rarest watches in the world through an online platform like A Collectable Man.

Founder and CEO, Silas Walton is a UCL law school graduate and an alumni of HEC Paris, having completed a degree in MSc Strategic Management with a core specialisation in Digital Innovation for Business. He believes his degrees helped him immensely to understand the foundation concepts of entrepreneurship and equity. He start a business merely six months after graduation, with Watch Xchange- as an online website focused on buying and selling pre-owned rare luxury watches.

Today the company has expanded exponentially and deals with the highest level of haute horology. It is the first online platform to ever be endorsed by legendary watchmakers like Laurent Ferrier, Philippe Dufour and Roger Smith. Within a short span of six years, A Collected Man has drawn in $25 million in sales of luxury watches and has already exceeded last year’s turnover of $9.5 million.

Mr Walton worked with the idea of building an online retail space for watches but what sparked this idea is during the early stages of business development, he owned only two watches, a Longines Chronograph and a Cartier Tank, which he eventually tried to sell and realised how restricted the number of options were for re-selling watches. There were no digital platforms to carry out this transaction since people only trusted limited physical retailers to do the needful. This is when he decided to include buying and selling of pre-owned watches as an integral part of his business model in order to help people see the effectiveness, convenience and value for money in online retail shopping.

The company today sells watches on consignment for private owners, luxury watches created by small independent businesses, rare watches and collectables along with self-made designs that are personal to Mr Walton’s collection.

Another aspect that contributes to the immense popularity of the company is a recently added service which is A Collected Man watch straps. It offers luxury watch straps ranging from 18mm to 22m and come in designated colours, textures and patterns. They also offer customizable straps according to customer’s personal preferences in some cases. Everything from adding fine-details to entire stock production is sourced from the finest European tanneries and come from Italy, Belgium and France before reaching the main London office.

The company is big on collaborating with independent artists who truly reflect the brands DNA within their watch designs. They look out for specific brands that not only indulge in creating timeless and ethereal pieces but also impress with their honest and intriguing brand story.

With the advent of a digital platform for pre-owned luxury watches, more and more people are steering away from the patent trend of long waiting lists and are focusing on online shopping for watches, which brings them the freedom, efficiency and ease to make purchases on their own terms and be updated at every touchpoint of the brand purchase.

One of the main reasons as to why A Complete Man stands out from its contemporaries apart from its exemplary services is due to its conscious presentation of pieces, the websites simplistic design and the honest credibility that allows customers to fully trust the relevance of every product that they purchase.

“We define ourselves as ‘agnostic’ on the brand or age of timepieces. Our selection criteria are rare and/or complicated models. On the same day, we can sell a vintage Vacheron Constantin and a contemporary Gronefeld.” says founder, Silas Walton when asked about the brands focus on vintage watch models.

The company’s customer-oriented service and high-quality credible products had anyway led to a vast increase in sales but it was actually Richemont’s takeover of Watchfinder that truly gave it the much needed boost of acceptance and legitimacy in 2018 that the pre-owned luxury watch segment previously lacked.

There is a growing set of independent watch brands that are now looking at going digital within the pre-owned market simultaneously. This opens up space for more retailers to form direct partnerships with established online retailer like A Collected Man, not just to market their products and establish a platform but also to support the inherent growth and profit that comes along with such progressive digital partnerships.