Finance:Wristcheck
Wristcheck is a Hong Kong-based omnichannel platform for buying, selling, and trading pre-owned luxury watches. Founded in 2020 by Austen Chu and Sean Wong, the company operates an e-commerce marketplace and physical showrooms.[1]
History
The company was founded by Austen Chu and Sean Wong. Chu's interest in watches began at a young age, and he has cited Jay-Z's references to Audemars Piguet as an early influence.[1] In 2016, at age 18, Chu started the watch-focused Instagram account @horoloupe, which grew to over 100,000 followers.[2] Through the online community, he identified a need for a more trustworthy and transparent platform for pre-owned watches.[3]
In late 2019, Chu partnered with Sean Wong, then a senior vice president at Hypebeast, who led its e-commerce division, HBX.[2] They co-founded Wristcheck in 2020. The company launched its e-commerce platform and its first physical showroom in Hong Kong's Landmark Atrium in August 2021.
In January 2023, Wristcheck announced it had raised US$8 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Gobi Partners GBA, which manages the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, with participation from K3 Ventures.[4] The company received a US$5 million investment from Jay-Z in July 2024[5], followed by an investment from Kylian Mbappé through his firm, Coalition Capital, in February 2025.[6]
Business Model
Wristcheck operates as a curated marketplace that positions itself as a direct competitor to traditional watch dealers by addressing the market's historical lack of regulation and transparency.[1] The company's model is built on disclosing its fees to both buyers and sellers.[7]
A core feature is its in-house authentication process. Every watch listed on the platform is inspected and graded by a team of Swiss-trained watchmakers to verify its condition and authenticity.[3] The company expanded to Macau with a store at the Wynn Macau resort in March 2025.[8] Its first U.S. location, an appointment-only showroom, opened at 18 Harrison Street in New York City's Tribeca neighbourhood in July 2025.[9]
The company's business model combines its online platform with physical locations in Hong Kong, Macau and New York City.[8][10][9] Wristcheck has received venture capital funding from Gobi Partners and K3 ventures, as well as investments from public figures including American entrepreneur Jay-Z and French Professional footballer Kylian Mbappé. [4][6]
Locations
Wristcheck's first showroom opened at the Landmark Atrium in Hong Kong in August 2021.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Meet the co-founder and CEO of Jay-Z-backed Wristcheck, Austen Chu" (in en). 2024-10-19. https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3282886/meet-founder-and-ceo-jay-z-backed-wristcheck-austen-chu-he-first-heard-audemars-piguet-watches-jay.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Koh, Wei (2021-03-08). "Meet Wristcheck's Austen Chu" (in en-US). https://revolutionwatch.com/meet-wristchecks-austen-chu/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 香港經濟日報HKET. "Wristcheck由綫上到綫下 與名店為鄰" (in zh-Hant). https://paper.hket.com/article/3071627/Wristcheck%E7%94%B1%E7%B6%AB%E4%B8%8A%E5%88%B0%E7%B6%AB%E4%B8%8B%20%E8%88%87%E5%90%8D%E5%BA%97%E7%82%BA%E9%84%B0.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wang, Cat. "Hong Kong Luxury Watch Seller Raises $8 Million From Gobi Partners, Kuok Meng Xiong's K3 Ventures" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherinewang/2023/01/18/hong-kong-luxury-watch-seller-raises-8-million-from-gobi-partners-kuok-meng-xiongs-k3-ventures/.
- ↑ Hoffman, Andy (2024-07-02). "Jay-Z Backs Luxury Watch Trading Platform Wristcheck" (in en). Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-02/rapper-jay-z-backs-luxury-watch-platform-wristcheck.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yong, Yimie (2024-07-12). "Jay-Z Invests $5M in Hong Kong luxury watch retailer Wristcheck" (in en-US). https://technode.global/2024/07/12/jay-z-invests-5m-in-hong-kong-luxury-watch-retailer-wristcheck/.
- ↑ Bajpai, Neha S. (2021-09-01). "Austen Chu Goes All Out with Wristcheck's First Store in Hong Kong" (in en-US). https://revolutionwatch.com/austen-chu-goes-all-out-with-wrsitchecks-first-store-in-hong-kong/.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "» Wristcheck Wynn Macau" (in en-US). https://retaildesignblog.net/2025/03/06/wristcheck-wynn-macau/.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Watch Reseller Platform Wristcheck Opens New York Store" (in en-GB). 2025-07-11. https://www.watchpro.com/watch-reseller-wristcheck-opens-new-york-store/.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Dembina, Andrew (2022-08-29). "Moments in time with Wristcheck's Austin Chu - Asia Pacific Boating" (in en-US). https://asiapacificboating.com/moments-in-time-with-wristchecks-austin-chu/.
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