| | |  f O.J. Whatley were a wristwatch, he'd run fast. Really fast. Whatley talks about high-end time pieces at a pace that would make a second hand sem stuck. But he has turned this passion, and keen business sense, into Watch U Want, a Hollywood seller, trader and buyer of exlusive watches.
The former stock broker-turned-software sales engineer now deals in almost any exceptional watch, but he specializes in an oversized, Italian-designed, Swiss-made sports watch known as Panerai.
While most new watches are like cars, depreciating almost immediately once they are put on the wrist, most Panerai watches increase in retail value because athletes, CEOs, rock stars - and their wannabes - have become obsessed with them in the last several years.
We have Fortune 500 CEOs who won't be able to sleep tonight unless they know their watches will be on their doorstep tomorrow morning," sasys Whatley.
Watch U Want, with six employees, made $10 million in sales last year, according to Whatley. We want to get to $24-to-$30 million per year," says the married father of two, who likes to listen to John Mayer and watch The Sopranos.
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| Whatley's interest in watches started when he won $16,900 on the Wheel of Fortune while in college and bought himself and his father Rolex Submariners. He started Watch U Want six-and-a-half years ago after "borowing" from his mohter's credit card to buy his first Panerai watch. He sold it for a profit of about $1,500.
On this day, he wears a discontinued Panerai Pam 165 44mm automatic marina. Only 400 units of this modle ever were made. It retailed at $4,900 and Whatley estimates it can bes sold today at $6,900.
"Rolexes are mass produced. There is nothing really colectible about them. But when there are only 500 of a watch model made, people want them," Whatley says.
Panerai also makes special editions for movie stars like Sylvester Stallone and Brad Pitt. These extras his the market at a premium price. And accessories like specialized bands - vintage bomber jacket, anyone? - or the ornate display boxes are just as much in demand.
Whatley does have his challenges growing Watch U Want. He is moving the business from a long-time eBay presence to his own internet site and the busness remains rooted in his own wheeling and dealing. " A vaction is a major financial hit." he says. But his customers remian extremely loyal.
Michael Pliskin, who is the associate dean at the Temple University |
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