The global watch industry is valued in the tens of billions, yet for decades it has functioned through a fragmented web of dealers, collectors, auction houses, and marketplaces. While trust and personal relationships have traditionally held the system together, the trade has long been marked by inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and a lack of transparency. In Amsterdam a few days ago, that dynamic began to change. At Le Carage, the newly opened headquarters of Vintagemasters and the European base of The Horology Club, more than seventy industry professionals gathered for the launch of Worldwatch.market (WWM).
Connection without competition
At its core, WWM isn't a marketplace. It doesn't compete with dealers, brands, or platforms. Instead, it serves as infrastructure – a digital ecosystem designed to help professionals connect, communicate, and collaborate with greater efficiency.
Stan Duin, founder of Worldwatch.market
Worldwatch.market serves as infrastructure, a tool that doesn't compete with other platforms
Founder Stan Duin put it simply, “The watch world runs on trust, but trust needs the right tools to scale. We built Worldwatch.market to be the connective tissue of the industry”. The word connection was repeated throughout the night. Dealers with dealers, platforms with brands, auctions with collectors, the kind of connections that usually happen in the shadows of WhatsApp chats or at the occasional trade show. WWM aims to formalize and streamline these interactions while staying hands-off when it comes to the actual transactions.
Features and roadmap
At launch, Worldwatch.market already provides a secure environment for dealers and partners to interact, with tools for inventory visibility, peer-to-peer communication, and discovery. But the roadmap shows a far broader ambition:
- Marketplace integrations that will allow dealers to easily connect their stock to multiple sales channels, reducing duplication and administrative overhead.
- Inventory management tools such as bulk management and import functions, designed to handle the realities of a dealer's daily workflow.
- Sourcing moduleswhich will make sourcing and moving watches across geographies more efficient and transparent.
- Collaboration tools for brands and auction houses, enabling them to coordinate with dealers without undermining existing business models.
In short, Worldwatch.market is positioning itself not as a competitor to existing sales platforms, but as a neutral infrastructure where every part of the industry can operate more effectively.
Founding members and industry backing
WWM's credibility comes not only from its product, but also from the names standing behind it. The founding members include Vintage Masters, Amsterdam Vintage Watches, Bulang and Sons, SwissOnly, Alessio Zenga Vintage Watches, Goudwisselkantoor, and major brands. Together, they represent a broad cross-section of the industry—from vintage specialists and international dealers to heritage brands and certified pre-owned divisions. Their early involvement signals that Worldwatch.market is meeting a genuine need across both the vintage and modern segments of the market.
As one founding member put it during the evening: “We've been waiting for something like this, not another marketplace, but a place where the industry itself can meet.”
An evening of ideas and watches
The launch night was structured around both vision and enjoyment. After the talks, the focus shifted to the watches themselves. A no-reserve, no-commission auction by Goudwisselkantoor drew plenty of attention. Among the lots, a Heuer Autavia Jochen Rindt, a Bulgari Octo Finissimo, and a Rolex Day-Date sparked lively bidding. The choice of pieces, from a vintage chronograph with racing pedigree to a cutting-edge ultra-thin modern icon, perfectly reflected the diversity of the audience.
A commitment to the future of the craft
Perhaps the most forward-looking moment of the evening came not from the platform itself, but from its commitment to education. WWM signed an agreement with Stichting Horlogemaker, a Dutch non-profit which will be founded to promote and professionalise watchmaking education.
The shortage of trained watchmakers has been described as one of the industry's greatest bottlenecks. By pledging to donate a portion of its revenue to the foundation, WWM positioned itself not only as an infrastructure provider but also as a contributor to the sustainability of the craft.
Why it matters
From a business standpoint, Worldwatch.market offers something the industry has long lacked: neutral ground. Traditional marketplaces earn through commissions, auctions take a cut at the hammer, and platforms vie for the attention of dealers and collectors alike. WWM breaks from this competitive model, providing a collaborative framework where all parties can engage without risking margin or control.
For dealers, this means easier access to supply and peers across borders. For platforms, it creates opportunities to integrate and collaborate without being forced into exclusivity. For brands, it offers visibility into the secondary ecosystem without undermining their retail operations. And for collectors, initiatives like a trust seal could reshape confidence in the market.
Looking ahead
The launch in Amsterdam was the first public step for Worldwatch.market, but it was clear that this was only the beginning. The event itself, bringing together dealers, collectors, brands, and platforms in one space, was historic in its own right.
As Duin said in his closing remarks, “This is not about building another platform. It's about giving the watch world the infrastructure it deserves.” For an industry that has always relied on handshake deals and whispered reputations, the prospect of a digital backbone that strengthens, rather than replaces, human trust may be exactly what the future requires.
Worldwatch.market is live, and if the energy in Amsterdam was any indication, the industry is ready for connection. More details at worldwatch.market.
https://monochrome-watches.com/worldwatch-market-new-infrastructure-for-the-global-watch-trade-industry-news/