Latest Review
April 17, 2025 
For those of you haven’t come across Bezel just yet, we’re happy to introduce you. Bezel is a trusted marketplace for buying or selling your next high-end watch. They have set out to create a platform that’s way less intimidating than anything else we’ve seen out there and strives to build trust with each and every transaction. We had the chance to speak with Bezel’s Co-Founder & CEO, Quaid Walker. A Product Designer, by trade and schooling, Quaid has set out to personally design a user experience that takes the fear and apprehension out of the purchasing process, while creating a digital environment that helps buyers feel empowered, educated, and enlightened.
Prior to this interview, we were given a deep dive tour of the Bezel app. There’s an undeniable amount of design and thoughtfulness woven into the experience, which the team here at Worn & Wound was certainly impressed by. With intuitive and compelling features like free in-house authentication with every purchase, personal concierge service, and fully-insured overnight shipping, Quaid says that he and the team at Bezel are out to push the watch industry forward. If you’re in the mode of seeking either your first or your next high-end watch, we’d say please continue reading this interview with Quaid, download the app, and decide for yourself.
Hey Quaid, it’s an honor to have you join us and talk about Bezel today. Can you tell us a little about yourself—your background, how you got into watches, and what inspires you beyond timepieces?
Sure! So glad to be here. I’ve always been drawn to design and craft. In college, I studied art, business, and computer science, knowing I wanted to merge creativity with commerce. I got my start early, landing an internship at a design agency in high school after persistently reaching out. That experience cemented my obsession with design.I worked at an agency while in college, partnering with companies big and small, but my career took off at Google. I joined as a designer and was pulled into an internal startup that became Google TV. It started as an idea on a whiteboard, but we scaled it into a product in over 150 million households. Seeing something go from concept to reality was addictive—I knew I wanted to keep building things that made an impact.
Watches became a passion along the way. My first big purchase was a Rolex Submariner, which felt like a milestone. I loved the mechanics, craftsmanship, and design. But as I got deeper into collecting, I realized how intimidating the watch world could be. I tried my best in the primary market, was added to countless waitlists, and found myself lost on the secondary market.. Instead, I found uncertainty and risk. It took me six months to find a watch I felt comfortable buying, and even then, I had doubts. That frustration led to Bezel—a platform designed to make watch collecting more transparent, trustworthy, and seamless for everyone.
How do you describe Bezel to someone unfamiliar with watches versus someone already in the watch community?
For those outside the watch world, I explain that Bezel is a marketplace for authenticated watches, solving the challenge of limited retail availability. Many don’t realize that buying a watch isn’t as simple as walking into a store—especially for high-demand models.
For enthusiasts, I tend to highlight Bezel’s focus on trust and convenience. We list over $700 million in watches, from professional dealers to individual collectors. Our concierge service helps buyers find the right piece, and every watch undergoes a rigorous authentication process, checking origin, condition, functionality, and theft records. Our goal is to make watch collecting seamless and secure. We want to be the best place for someone to buy their first watch—because once they do, they’ll likely keep collecting. So far, that’s proving true: 30% of our monthly sales come from repeat buyers who trust the experience and keep coming back.
Speaking of Bezel’s concierge service, can you talk about the client advisor team and how they personalize the experience for your users?
Buying a watch is a particularly special experience, and we wanted to bring the best parts of in-person shopping—like personal attention and trust—into the digital space. Our client advisors play a key role in that. Unlike other platforms, Bezel assigns each customer a dedicated advisor rather than a rotating team. This person gets to know you, learns your preferences, answers questions, sources specific models, and builds a long-term relationship with you. Whether you’re a first-time buyer looking for a wedding watch or a seasoned collector comparing references, they’re there to help.
From a business perspective, this mix of human expertise and technology makes Bezel unique. It’s our goal for the app to feel modern, polished, and personalized, but the magic is that it’s complemented by real people. Advisors take note of your interests—say you’re debating between a Rolex Batman and a Tudor GMT—and that data informs both your app experience, surfacing the right recommendations. At the same time, your personal advisor can access your watch history to offer even more tailored guidance. It’s a balance of cutting-edge tech and old-school service, and it makes the experience feel seamless and special.
What were the must-have features when building the Bezel app, and what were the nice-to-haves?
Our priority was perfecting the transaction—making Bezel the best place to buy a high-end watch. That meant ensuring a vast, up-to-date inventory by streamlining how sellers list and manage their watches. On the buyer side, we launched with core marketplace features: search, filters, and purchasing. But we quickly realized offers were essential. Once we introduced them, they transformed the business since watch buying is inherently negotiable.
We feel that another game-changer is the ability to track and follow desired models. With thousands of listings, finding the right watch can be overwhelming. Giving buyers a way to flag specific models and receive alerts when new ones appear made a huge difference. As we’ve evolved, features like auctions have driven engagement, and our Domino’s Pizza-style tracker for purchases—letting buyers see every step from shipping to authentication—adds transparency that builds trust. Moving forward, we’re expanding tools for sellers and launching a collection-tracking feature. Our approach has always been to nail the core buying experience first, then layer on features that enhance the entire ecosystem.
Trust and authenticity are crucial in this space. What steps has Bezel taken to ensure confidence in the buying process?
It started with an obsession over what I wanted as a buyer before Bezel existed. I looked to marketplaces like StockX and GOAT in the sneaker world and saw the importance of a brand staking its reputation on trust. So, our first hire was Ryan Chong, formerly of Sotheby’s, who built out our authentication team. That team includes expert watchmakers—who open up and inspect the mechanics—and authentication specialists, who have cataloged watches for thousands of hours at auction houses. They can tell if a bracelet feels off or if vintage papers don’t smell right. Every watch goes through a two-step authentication process. Before a listing even goes live, our team reviews images and details to ensure authenticity. Unlike other marketplaces, we don’t allow questionable listings. If something isn’t factory-original, it doesn’t make it to Bezel.
Once a watch sells, it’s overnighted to us for final authentication. We check condition, authenticity, and performance before it reaches the buyer. Last year, we rejected 29% of watches attempted to be sold through Bezel—nearly a third. On other platforms, those watches would likely become the buyer’s problem. We’re here to build a better, safer world for enthusiasts and collectors.
What feedback mechanisms have you built to ensure Bezel continuously improves for buyers and sellers?
We closely monitor all key metrics and actively engage with reviews on platforms like Trustpilot. The most valuable insights, though, come from direct conversations. Many of our buyers interact with our concierge team, and that personal connection allows us to address concerns and improve in real time. One of my favorite things is checking Trustpilot every morning. Beyond comments on inventory and pricing, most reviews mention specific advisors—”You have to work with Chris!”—which is exactly what we want. Even as we scale, we’re maintaining that “inside connection” feeling in the watch world, but in a modern, accessible way.
Watches mark meaningful moments—promotions, weddings, birthdays. We take that responsibility seriously. Our job at Bezel is to make the experience seamless and exciting, not stressful. When customers send us photos of their watch at their wedding or celebrating a milestone, it reminds us why we do this. Not many products carry that emotional weight quite like watches, and we’re committed to honoring that experience every step of the way.
Finally, what’s next for Bezel, both in the short and long terms?
Our vision here at Bezel has always been to be the ultimate platform for the world of watches. Unlike other marketplaces that expand into multiple categories, we are fully committed to watches because they require an expert-level approach. The industry is large enough to support a dedicated, highly specialized marketplace, and that’s where we’re focused.
When we started, our goal was to build the best place to buy and sell watches. But as we’ve grown, we’ve realized we’re building something even bigger—the foundational technology layer for the watch industry. We want to enhance the customer experience, making buying seamless and trustworthy, but also empower sellers with better tools to run their businesses efficiently. That means not only driving sales but also improving inventory management, seller collaboration, and eventually even post-purchase services like maintenance and insurance.
Quaid continues…
Ultimately, our ambition is to be the backbone of the watch world from a technology perspective, elevating every interaction throughout the watch ownership journey. With a team that blends top-tier engineers with seasoned watch experts, I feel like we’re uniquely positioned to make it happen. And while I can’t share too much yet, we have some exciting launches coming in the next few quarters that will continue pushing Bezel—and the watch industry—forward.
