Wristcheck

Wristcheck is a Hong Kong-based luxury-watch marketplace focused on the buying, selling, and trading of pre-owned timepieces. Founded in 2020 by Austen Chu and Sean Wong, the company combines an e-commerce platform with physical showrooms and positions itself as a more transparent alternative to conventional watch-dealer networks. Its business addresses a market in which pricing, condition, provenance, service history, and authenticity can be difficult for consumers to assess consistently. The company’s origins are closely associated with Chu’s online watch community. Chu developed an interest in watches at a young age and began the Instagram account @horoloupe in 2016, when he was 18. The account grew to more than 100,000 followers and gave him direct exposure to the interests and concerns of watch enthusiasts. Through that community, Chu identified demand for a platform that could make transactions in the pre-owned-watch market more trustworthy and easier to understand. In late 2019, he partnered with Sean Wong, who had been a senior vice president at Hypebeast and had led the e-commerce division HBX. The two subsequently established Wristcheck in 2020. Wristcheck’s model is based on a curated marketplace rather than an open, unmoderated listings site. Watches offered through the platform are inspected and graded by an in-house team of Swiss-trained watchmakers. The authentication and condition-assessment process is intended to reduce uncertainty for buyers while giving sellers a structured route to market. The company also emphasizes disclosure of fees to both sides of a transaction, presenting transparency as a central distinction from parts of the traditional secondary-watch trade. The company launched its online platform and opened its first physical showroom at Hong Kong’s Landmark Atrium in August 2021. It later expanded its physical presence beyond Hong Kong, opening a store at the Wynn Macau resort in March 2025. In July 2025, it opened an appointment-only showroom at 18 Harrison Street in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, marking its first United States location. These locations support a hybrid retail model in which customers can discover and transact online while also receiving in-person consultation and access to authenticated inventory. Wristcheck has attracted venture funding and strategic investment from prominent public figures. In January 2023, it announced an $8 million seed round led by Gobi Partners GBA, the manager of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, with participation from K3 Ventures. Jay-Z invested $5 million in the company in July 2024, and Kylian Mbappé invested through his firm Coalition Capital in February 2025. The investments have helped support Wristcheck’s expansion while also increasing the brand’s visibility beyond the specialist watch community. The brand’s scope remains concentrated in luxury watches, particularly the authenticated resale and trading of high-value mechanical timepieces. Its positioning combines specialist expertise, digital commerce, physical retail, and a consumer-facing emphasis on transparency. As a private company, Wristcheck does not publicly disclose the full scale of its sales, inventory, profitability, or geographic operations in the available reference material.

Wristcheck emerged from the online watch-collecting community built by co-founder Austen Chu. Chu developed an interest in watches early in life and has described references to Audemars Piguet in Jay-Z’s music and public image as an early influence. In 2016, at the age of 18, he launched the Instagram account @horoloupe, which grew to more than 100,000 followers. The account provided a platform for discussing watches and connected Chu with collectors, buyers, and sellers. It also exposed recurring concerns about trust, authenticity, pricing, and the quality of information available in the pre-owned-watch market. In late 2019, Chu began working with Sean Wong, a former senior vice president at Hypebeast who had led the company’s HBX e-commerce operation. Their partnership led to the founding of Wristcheck in 2020. Rather than operate solely as a traditional dealer or as an unrestricted peer-to-peer marketplace, Wristcheck developed a curated model combining digital listings, internal verification, and physical customer service. The company’s stated approach is to make the secondary luxury-watch market more transparent by disclosing transaction fees and inspecting watches before they are offered through the platform. Wristcheck launched its e-commerce platform and opened its first showroom at Hong Kong’s Landmark Atrium in August 2021. The showroom gave the company a physical presence in a major luxury-retail environment and complemented its online marketplace. Its operating model depends on specialist assessment: watches are examined and graded by a team of Swiss-trained watchmakers, with authentication and condition evaluation forming a central part of the customer proposition. The company raised an $8 million seed round announced in January 2023. The round was led by Gobi Partners GBA, which manages the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, and included K3 Ventures. Wristcheck subsequently received a $5 million investment from Jay-Z in July 2024. In February 2025, Kylian Mbappé invested through Coalition Capital. These financings and investments connected the specialist watch platform with both venture investors and internationally recognized cultural and sporting figures. Wristcheck expanded its physical footprint in 2025. In March, it opened a store at the Wynn Macau resort. In July, it opened an appointment-only showroom at 18 Harrison Street in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, its first United States location. The expansion reflects the company’s omnichannel strategy: online tools provide reach and inventory access, while showrooms offer inspection, consultation, and a more conventional luxury-retail setting. The available information describes Wristcheck as an active private company serving the secondary luxury-watch market. It does not provide audited financial results, complete ownership information, detailed revenue figures, or a comprehensive account of its inventory by brand. Its principal identity is that of a technology-enabled luxury resale and trading platform whose differentiation rests on curation, authentication, watchmaking expertise, transparent fees, and a growing international showroom network.

• 2025

  International expansion begins

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Wristcheck opened a Wynn Macau store in March and its first United States showroom in New York City in July.

• 2025

  Coalition Capital invests

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Kylian Mbappé invested in Wristcheck through Coalition Capital in February.

• 2024

  Jay-Z invests in the company

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Jay-Z made a $5 million investment in Wristcheck in July.

• 2023

  Seed financing announced

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  The company announced an $8 million seed round led by Gobi Partners GBA, with participation from K3 Ventures.

• 2021

  First showroom opens in Hong Kong

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Wristcheck launched its e-commerce platform and opened its first physical showroom at Hong Kong’s Landmark Atrium in August.

• 2020

  Wristcheck is founded

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Austen Chu and Sean Wong founded Wristcheck as a marketplace for buying, selling, and trading pre-owned luxury watches.

• 2019

  Chu partners with Sean Wong

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Chu partnered with Sean Wong, then associated with Hypebeast’s HBX e-commerce business, laying the groundwork for Wristcheck.

• 2016

  Austen Chu launches @horoloupe

  [1]Wristchecken.wikipedia.org

  Austen Chu launched the watch-focused Instagram account @horoloupe, which later grew to more than 100,000 followers and helped him identify problems in the pre-owned-watch market.

A digitally enabled, curated secondary-market platform for luxury watches, differentiated by in-house authentication, condition grading, disclosed fees, and an omnichannel showroom model.

• Luxury watch resale · 2020

  Pre-owned luxury watches

  Wristcheck’s core inventory consists of pre-owned luxury watches offered through its curated marketplace. The platform is designed for collectors and buyers seeking access to secondary-market timepieces, with listings supported by inspection, authentication, and condition grading. The available reference material does not specify a complete list of brands, models, or inventory volumes.

• Authentication service · 2020

  Watch authentication and grading

  Every watch listed through Wristcheck is described as undergoing inspection by an in-house team of Swiss-trained watchmakers. The process is intended to verify authenticity and assess condition, helping buyers and sellers make transactions with more consistent information than an entirely informal resale channel would provide.

• Luxury retail · 2021

  Omnichannel showroom experience

  Wristcheck complements its online marketplace with physical locations where customers can view watches and receive in-person assistance. Its showroom network began in Hong Kong and expanded to Macau and New York City, including an appointment-only Tribeca location opened in 2025.

• 2025

  Expand the showroom network internationallyStrategy

  Background

  Wristcheck’s omnichannel model required physical locations beyond its original Hong Kong base to reach additional luxury-watch customers.

  Action taken

  The company opened a store at Wynn Macau in March and an appointment-only showroom in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood in July.

  Aftermath

  The expansion gave Wristcheck physical operations in Hong Kong, Macau, and the United States.

  Source

• 2023

  Raise seed financingOther

  Background

  Wristcheck sought outside capital to develop its marketplace and support continued growth.

  Action taken

  The company announced an $8 million seed round led by Gobi Partners GBA, with participation from K3 Ventures.

  Aftermath

  The financing provided institutional backing for Wristcheck’s expansion, although the available material does not state how the proceeds were allocated.

  Seed financing. US$8 million raised (January 2023)

  Source

• 2021

  Add physical retail to the digital marketplaceStrategy

  Background

  After establishing its online platform, Wristcheck sought to provide customers with an in-person way to inspect watches and engage with the brand.

  Action taken

  The company opened its first showroom at Hong Kong’s Landmark Atrium in August 2021.

  Aftermath

  The showroom established the omnichannel format later extended to Macau and New York City.

  Source

• 2020

  Adopt a curated and transparent marketplace modelStrategy

  Background

  The founders identified concerns about trust, authenticity, fee visibility, and information quality in the pre-owned luxury-watch market.

  Action taken

  Wristcheck combined online listings with disclosed fees, in-house authentication, condition grading, and physical customer service.

  Aftermath

  The model became the foundation of the brand’s positioning as an alternative to less standardized secondary-market watch dealing.

  Source

1. 1Wristchecken.wikipedia.org