If you recall some older articles of mine, I didn’t exactly speak to fondly of Antiquorum’s totalitarian tactics behind their running of Timezone.com, which they own. The large luxury watch auctioneer has been around for a while focused on the buying and selling of uber luxury watches and people who feel comfortable writing blanks checks. They have some really nice watches of course, but take my word for it these people put the “snob” in “snobby.”
Well for whatever reason Antiquorum (Antiquorum.com) is under new rule. Watch selling veteran Robert Maron has taken (or been offered and accepted the helm). There is just one big irony in this for me. You have to understand that Antiquorum hates anyone else that attempts to auction watches. I would guess they probably hate anyone else that sells watches either. Their crude censorship tactics on Timezone.com can ban you for life just for mentioning the evil little word “eBay.” So Antiquorum, the arch eBay nemesis, has appointed a leader who takes a lot of pride in selling on eBay? Sure enough, Robert Maron, in addition to his online watch store, has a well listed eBay watch store. Something seems fishy here. Maybe Antiquorum is paying Maron enough to get out of selling watches on his own? Maybe he will ditch eBay? Maybe they needed Maron a lot more than he needed them. Anything is possible, but I do see this as a true irony. I am not surprised though.
The watch industry, especially in the area of sales has been notorious for such contradictions. While admonishing the gray market publicly, sales channels seeking to unload inventory often feed watches straight to the gray market right after chastising them. It is all a game really to preserve a sales model that is frankly, pretty antiquated. That however, is another discussion altogether.
Information suggests that Maron has a large financial stake in Antiquorum as well. So, another possibility is that he basically bought his Chairman role at the company. Maron, owning a very large watch dealership might have been able to afford such a position or stake at the world’s largest (depending on your definition) watch auction house. Each highly profitable ventures. It is certainly conceivable that Maron invested his way into Antiquorum. And if this is the case, I think him all the more impressive.
Robert Maron is supposed to bring a new level of growth and reach (Internet wise most likely) for Antiquorum, and he seems like a good guy for the job. Frankly, I have a lot to admire about him. We are both attorneys who love watches a lot. He lives in Los Angeles, and I am from Los Angeles; he made a successful career out of his watch love, and, well, who knows what I will do with mine. He is a bit of a success story actually. One of those self-made watch entrepreneurs, he really made a solid name for himself. I have not yet had the opportunity to speak with Maron, but if I do, I’ll let you know if he will give Antiquorum a better face, or allow it to stick with with the one it has. Honestly, who starts a company name with the word “anti” anyways?
We will see what happens. Antiquorum holds about three auctions a years, and the haul is large for them each time. Stay posted to see how things pan out for Maron. Perhaps he will change policies on Timezone.com so that they aren’t seen in such a negative light. The watch industry landscape just keeps getting more interesting!