Ep 859 : Austin Shvarts owner of TNS Diamonds

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:02]All right, here we are. Another episode of Let me be Talk. Fantastic guest today. I mentioned this man on our Watches and Wonders episode and uh I had to have him on. How are you, Austin?

[00:00:15]>> Pretty good, man. How are you?

[00:00:16]>> I'm good. What is it? It's TNS Diamonds, right?

[00:00:20]>> TNS Diamonds.

[00:00:21]>> And what's the Instagram? I want to tell people right away so when they're listening, they can kind of uh watch some of your stuff.

[00:00:28]>> Oh, yeah. Yeah, if you want to check out our socials, it's just TNS Diamonds. We got a TNS right there, even though it's kind of backwards.

[00:00:36]>> Now, let me ask you, um, uh, you know, I kind of found you on the internet and, um, I will say this. In the matter of time that I've known you, you have really what I would say uh stepped up your game on the social media platform, which is what is going to leave most of these uh jewelry or any kind of business in the dust if you don't adapt to this, especially in the last 10 years, you know. But your um style and the way you tell stories and everything and you know I tell stories for a living and jokes and everything. I was really like oh this guy's got it.

[00:01:23]You know there's some people you're on Instagram you go nah nah you know they do the [ __ ] wrist roll in their Ferrari or whatever. But you really have these cool stories of like fake watches, real watches, deals, uh bad customers.

[00:01:40]you and uh my buddy up there at the shop in Vancouver that sells denim. You guys have really taken it to another level of showing the lunacy of owning your own uh mom and pop business.

[00:01:55]>> Yeah. I mean uh it's kind of nice when you're able to tell stories that no one else can tell because it's your own experience. So, I think uh I think that's the advantage whereas other people they'll just like show watches, tell you the price, and that's when you can just want to scroll because it's not grabbing you. There's nothing like unique happening. But, um yeah, and we also try to to do a good job like getting the craziest stories and writing them down so we don't forget because obviously, you know, you're in the entertainment business. That's uh really what grabs people attention.

[00:02:31]Well, let me ask you um and then we'll get into how you've really stepped up the game on the filming and everything.

[00:02:40]Now, TNS Diamonds is in Philadelphia, correct?

[00:02:44]>> Correct.

[00:02:44]>> And was it your dad's business and at some time you took it over? How does this happen?

[00:02:51]>> Yes. So, um do you want me to go into the It's not that long of a story, but do you want to do you want to hear the whole history? Yeah, because you know there's so many people whether it be a plumber, a welder or you know carpet business or whatever. There's a dad his passion is that and then the kids usually look at us like uh I'm definitely not going to be working at dad's jewelry shop and then there's other people um like my buddy Ian up in Portland. He works with his dad at Rolex and they love it. So how does this all happen?

[00:03:28]>> Yes. So I will say I mean when I grew up I was kind of in the the boat of I don't want to join my family business. I want to do my own thing. Um when I was growing up so it's TNS Diamonds and it stands for Tony Nancy Susan, right? So Tony is my father, Nancy is my grandmother and Susan is my mom.

[00:03:50]And it's both on my mom's side of the family. And then they ran the business from 1991 till 2010. Uh, which is when I graduated high school. They had things figured out. My uncle was working here also, which was my mom's brother. So, it's basically my father and his in-laws. And then my parents got divorced in 2010. And you know how things like that go. And he fired his in-laws. Um, and when I went to college between 2010 and 2014, I watched my dad who ran a business with his in-laws for 20 years to firing them trying to run it by himself. And I was just watching the business like not be sustainable because he wasn't able to to run it without uh the help that he's always had. And that was kind of the moment where I was like, all right, I'm graduating with a finance degree. Do I go into the business world or do I take an opportunity here that I can actually help a a family who is in need and also it's like a good opportunity for myself.

[00:04:56]>> Was it always a jewelry store or was it mostly watches? Because you're all watches now, correct?

[00:05:05]>> We still have a good amount of jewelry and actually when I graduated college, I went to the Gemological Institute of America and got my diamond degree. So, I do know all about that stuff, but um I'd say '9s up until when I joined it was probably 90% jewelry, 10% watches. And then when I joined, I like watches more. So, I just slowly transitioned us toward that.

[00:05:31]And now today, we're probably like 95 97% watches and just a little bit of jewelry for friends and family.

[00:05:40]Now, how old are you, Austin?

[00:05:43]>> 33.

[00:05:44]>> What gets you into watches? Because to me, I've told the story many times, it was James Bond. He was into high-end stuff, you know, amazing Aston Martin cars, Rosnolkis, the Rolex sub, the, you know, the uh the quote unquote the James Bond sub. And that was my first really introduction to, you know, watches. And then as I started to get into them, uh, you know, in the 80s, Movado was hot, you know, just a a Courtz with the black face and and then of course the G-Shocks and all of that. But what gets you into watches?

[00:06:27]>> You mean like me personally?

[00:06:29]>> Yeah. Like when you're young, you go, "Oh, I like watches." What was it?

[00:06:34]>> I don't know. You know, I feel like um a lot of kids when they grow up with something and they see their parents do it, they're kind of like, I don't want to do that. So, like I always liked watches and my dad even gave me a watch.

[00:06:47]He gave me a ball watch worth uh like 2500 bucks and I thought it was so cool.

[00:06:54]And I went into middle school, I told people, "Oh, I have this watch, $2,500."

[00:06:59]And it got like stolen a week later because I was being an idiot. Um, but I always liked them. I I think the real appreciation developed from coming into the business and being like, how can I grow this business? How can I learn as much as I can about this product so that I can be an expert for the customers? And I think like just a passion for entrepreneurship and being an expert in your field is what really fueled uh the love for watches. Whereas maybe other people took a more like traditional route from a collector standpoint of just like, you know, some people love cars, some people love collecting comics, some people love collecting watches.

[00:07:41]>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, uh, >> but had I not been in the business, I don't I can't say if I would have ended up being like a watch guy or not. I I I don't know to say I would or I wouldn't have, but um I can't say without a doubt that I would have.

[00:08:00]That makes sense.

[00:08:01]>> So, you come in there, you know what, 16 years ago now, correct?

[00:08:06]>> No. Uh 2015 I joined.

[00:08:09]>> Oh, 2015. So, and it's just your dad and then you come on and the two of you are running it together and it it was definitely an old building because in the last year you've kind of blown out the other walls and really changed the look of it. But was it just kind of a kind of one of those downtown type of jewelry stores where if you were just looking for something, you'd go there? I mean, you didn't have new new watches and stuff, right?

[00:08:38]>> Yeah. No, it was just um we didn't have much of an internet presence. So like we're on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia.

[00:08:46]There's tons of jewelry stores down here and you you rely on setting up your window so that when people walk by you can kind of attract them in or developing customers over the years.

[00:08:56]Like he's definitely developed a uh a loyal TNS customer base in the area. Um, yeah. So, you kind of rely on just like foot traffic like that, but uh the internet kind of takes it to a whole another level. But as far as the store goes, um, I mentioned before that my parents split up in 2010 and, you know, he left our house and he needed a new home. He actually bought the building we're in in 2010.

[00:09:25]Um, and then it was divided in two. So, like we had half of our shop as our jewelry store, which if you saw in the original videos, it was this like dark shop.

[00:09:37]>> Yeah. It looked like a pawn shop.

[00:09:40]>> Yeah. Uh and then we do have a pawn license. We do give pond lines as well, but that's a a different story. But the other half of the shop was a barber shop. So, we actually tried to run a barber shop over there for a long time.

[00:09:52]And then about like I don't know maybe two and a half years ago uh we've been hiring and we ran out of space to put people. So I was like we got to close the barber shop, break down the wall so we can hire more people.

[00:10:06]>> So does that happen because of the Instagram presence? Do you start to see like I mean not so much foot traffic but your phone rings every day all day.

[00:10:19]>> Yeah. I mean, it happens because, you know, when I first joined in 2015 and we're we're doing watches, but like I had to do the buying myself, do the photographing, list the watches online.

[00:10:36]I was packing the watches myself. I was authenticating myself. Basically doing everything that I have a whole dedicated staff now for. Um, and then slowly you like fill one of those roles at a time with a dedicated person. So, in the beginning it was just me and my dad. And then now we're at eight people, but like yeah, full-time social media guy. Um, full-time photographer to like list the packet list the watches online.

[00:11:06]Full-time guy to do packing and shipping. Full-time watch maker, and then just a guy who helps do like buying and selling and wholesale for me.

[00:11:16]So, I was doing all those jobs myself in the back in the past except for watchmaking.

[00:11:23]uh that we would just send out to someone. But uh but yeah, just like it it helps you to obviously increase the volume. I mean, we were probably doing like 40 times more volume today than we were back when I first started.

[00:11:37]>> Yeah, that's incredible. Now, my thing that really blows me away about you, there's a couple questions I have. Um, but you know, for years I was just a Rolex guy. And thank God that I didn't learn everything about watches overnight. Like music, as you get older, you're like, I never even heard of this band or I was never even into this style. And you start going into different directions. Thank God. Because if you hear all the music when you're young or you like all of the watches when you're young, there's nowhere after a while you hit the ceiling and you go like, "Gh, I'm bored." But your knowledge of these uh boutique and micro brands is really unreal. And up until about I'd say five six years ago I didn't even know what a Lent Farier was or say you know Vasheron um that kind of stuff you know I knew Paddock Rolex Tutor Mado Omega all the you know the ones but when you get a watch in it could be worth a half million dollars and you'll be like oh this is a baguaya you I I don't even know how to say some of the names of the [ __ ] things and then you know everything about the movements and even if it's like way beyond a turbulant and all kinds of stuff. So, do you just sit up at night and study this stuff?

[00:13:13]>> I mean, there's definitely a little like secret behind the scenes. You watch my video and I come off as I don't make a mistake in what I say and I know every little thing. You know, there's you're in show business. There's a little bit of editing behind the scenes, but like when we get a particular watch in, I read every single article that exists online about it. I watch a few different videos of like some of the bigger creators or just watch dealers in the past who have gotten it in the and done some sort of media on it. And that way when I get on camera, we'll go line by line and like give all of what I think are the best and most important facts. Um, but it's not like I I obviously stay up to date with uh new releases and news and stuff, but I'm not deep diving on every watch that I've never had, but like everything that we've ever had, I've done a ton of research so that I can talk about it confidently. Um, and then naturally with the volume of pieces we're getting in, I'm I'm learning a lot.

[00:14:19]>> Let's talk a little bit about these city jewelry districts. Philly, downtown LA, the New York one, of course, the big one in New York.

[00:14:32]I don't think there's anything more mind-boggling to me than going into these areas and the quote unquote rare watch and then you roll into a guy's store, especially in New York those, you know, in the jewelry district there, and they'll have 700 Kermits, they'll have, you know, 25 nautiluses, they'll have 30 aquinauts.

[00:14:59]This kind of thing really blows my mind because really what it tells me is they're not rare, but there's still this fabricated like, yeah, you can't get it, you know? How does that even happen where these guys cuz you got to have deep pockets or it's all consignment.

[00:15:19]Uh, and and how do they have like 70, you know, nautiluses?

[00:15:26]I mean, you know, I guess the real question is what percentage of people who go in and get the Nautilus, for the viewers watching that aren't aware, you go in, you buy a Nautilus for $50,000 retail, and the minute you walk out the store, it's worth $150, $200,000. So, the moment you walk out of the store, you you you could have made over $100,000.

[00:15:53]um to get that opportunity to even buy that watch in the first place, you obviously have to be an amazing customer of theirs, spend a bunch of money, but like what percentage of people are keeping that watch and what percent are flipping it?

[00:16:08]>> Well, if the answer is more than 50% of them are flipping it, then uh you know, then then that's how they end up in these stores. But if you're asking like how does one single store have that many pieces? Um, I haven't I haven't spent a ton of time down there. I I don't know.

[00:16:26]Have you seen stores that actually have 25 Nautiluses in stock? There might be like one or two, but those are major players in the industry.

[00:16:34]>> Well, if you go from booth to booth to booth to booth, you're going to see five in each booth.

[00:16:40]>> So, you're going like, well, I just saw 70 uh Nautilus stainless steels today, you know, in a matter of one minute.

[00:16:47]It's so [ __ ] crazy because if you didn't go to one of these places, you may never ever see a Nautilus ever.

[00:16:56]>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, it's it's a major hub for jewelry and watches. So, like it maybe it doesn't feel rare when you walk up and down that street, you see so many, but in reality, it it is still very rare. They're just that's where a lot of them are. Well, I I know the paddocks are rare, but there's no way uh a green sub is rare. There's just there's over a million made uh literally. And there are so many green subs or Hulks or even Daytona Pandas right now in the world, you know, literally thousands and thousands, you know. So I understand the paddic and and you know these watches that are way smaller you know especially Laurent Farier but also something like a lauron farier 99% of people don't know what it is so you could be stuck with it too.

[00:17:55]>> That's true. Um, but like there's definitely a small circle of people who want the Laurent fairies and stuff like that, but that small circle like they they really want it. They're obsessed.

[00:18:09]But that's, you know, where you where you turn it from like small hobby to like addiction level.

[00:18:16]>> Yeah. Yeah. You don't have to tell me now. Uh, I do enjoy uh watching these vids that you do. They're fantastic. I want you guys to go to TNS Diamonds Instagram and and just subscribe to the channel because you're going to be entertained even if you're not into watches because of the lunacy of watch collecting. Every day there's going to be some kind of story and uh it sometimes you'll get the person on the phone and uh you'll be like, "Hey, I just got your watch." And they'll go, "Oh yeah, yeah." My favorite one was the guy goes, "Yeah, uh, I loan my buddy, you know, 10 grand and he didn't pay me back, so he gave me the watch." And it was like straight up fake, you know, and it's wild how quick you can tell a fake watch. But these days, the fake ones are getting better and better and better, man. Like you real movement or fake body or any of that, you know?

[00:19:18]>> It's a little bit scary. I've still yet to see a fake that has come close to fooling us. But like if it was on someone's wrist and I saw it, I I I can't say that I would know. But if they handed it to me and I had more than 30 seconds, I'm I'll probably I don't know.

[00:19:35]I haven't seen something that has fooled me beyond like 30 seconds.

[00:19:40]>> Yeah. Well, what spooked me was about five years ago, I was in New York and this guy had what they quote unquote the superfix, you know, and before if you had box papers and the the Rolex actual card, you were like, "Oh, yeah." Well, you wouldn't even get it checked cuz you got it's got the card everything. But then when you watch on Instagram these guys making these cards in China on this machine. Oh my god. Now it's a whole different level of fakes.

[00:20:12]>> I will say that uh one thing that is scary that is really difficult to detect is they take a real card and they erase the serial number on it and they'll like they reprint the cards with new model and serial number. So, they'll take a watch that maybe was stolen off someone's wrist or had no box or papers and then they'll make it quote unquote complete and then the card that made it into a complete set was just like fabricated.

[00:20:43]>> Man, I I remember you sold a guy a watch and a year later he found out it was fake or stolen.

[00:20:50]>> That was a crazy story. Tell that story.

[00:20:53]Actually, it happens unfortunately like at least one to two times a year. Wow.

[00:20:59]>> And I'm dealing with one right now that I will share, but I'm waiting for it to resolve first, but I can talk about it here. But basically, um, I sold a guy an AP back in 2023, >> 542 or 1520.

[00:21:16]>> No, it was a it's a 26860 ST. So, it's like a it's a chrono. It's an AP Royal O Chrono, but the prior version um at the time he paid like 42,000 for it, which was a good deal, but today it's only worth like 32,000, right?

[00:21:32]>> So, it's depreciated. So, it's this awkward position where he's like, >> "Oh, this watch turned out stolen. Um, I want a full refund." And I'm like, "Damn, you know, I could just replace the watch for 32 today. I You paid 42 back then." But without going too deep into it, he sent it to AP to get like extracts where you just ask for some original information from them and they said, "Hey, this watch is stolen." So then he contacted me and said, "Hey, I want to return it." So I asked him, "Did they tell you when it was stolen?"

[00:22:05]Because what I want to confirm is was it reported stolen before or after I sold it to you? If it was reported stolen after I sold it to you, then like there's some funny business going on, >> right?

[00:22:16]with the guy. I get it.

[00:22:18]>> Yeah, maybe maybe you reported it. I'm getting in the middle of some insurance fraud. Um, so we said ask I told him ask AP for that information. AP said we can't give you any information. We can't tell you when it was reported, stolen, who, what, where, anything unless you subpoena us.

[00:22:37]And I was like, I talked to my lawyer and he said to to file a subpoena, you have to like do a police report. And it's like a it's jumping through hurdles. So now I feel bad. This guy who I sold the watch to it, it could just be that it was reported stolen before I gave it to him.

[00:22:53]But like we need to make that definitive before I just go through refunds. Um so we're working through that process and hopefully in another few months I can come back and share the full story and how it resolved.

[00:23:06]>> My thoughts are um you know why didn't AP keep it? You know sometimes they're like this is stolen, we're keeping it.

[00:23:15]Well, apparently they just um digitally requested archives. So, you can like >> email them pictures and say I It's basically when when the watch has no original paperwork, you can say, "Hey, can I get a copy of the original paperwork?" They'll charge you like $500 and they'll they'll send it to you and they ask for just pictures of the watch.

[00:23:38]>> Now, I want to make it straight people, he's not just buying stolen watches.

[00:23:42]Usually when somebody comes in and sells a watch, um I don't know what in Philly, but the law here is I think it's a 30-day hold and you check in the you know the there's like stolen watches, you know, on file or whatever and after 30 days you could sell it. What do you remember who you bought the watch from?

[00:24:03]>> Yeah. So, um that wasn't the case for this. It's not like I bought it in my store over the counter from a stranger.

[00:24:09]I bought it from another dealer who I have an invoice from and I told him, "Hey, you sold me this watch. It turns out that it's stolen." But he also was like, "We need to figure out when it was reported stolen before I give you a refund." So, I I can't force him to refund me because he's also in the same position where it's like, "Maybe I owe you, maybe I don't." Um, so we just need to get the facts, but AP is making it extremely difficult. We're over here telling them like we're trying to do the right thing here. we want to give the watch back to the original owner. Can you just connect us with them so we can get to the bottom of this? And they're basically just like, we want nothing to do with this unless you legally force us to be involved.

[00:24:50]>> Wow.

[00:24:52]I mean, that is a great uh subject to bring up because what I'm really blown away by and what people don't look at the price of business is you have to have fairly very deep pockets. other than I know you take a lot of watches on consignment which is great but when se stuff like this happens and say it does turn out to be stolen it's all legit and you've got to give them the full 42 back when it's only worth 35 now you're losing thousands or here's another example uh a guy you say I'll buy the watches and you ship them and they get stolen in FedEx now you're fully insured But sometimes FedEx would take two three months to pay you back. Correct.

[00:25:43]>> Yeah. Absolutely.

[00:25:44]>> And so now let's say it was like I mean people when you watch Austin at some points he'll take in a box that'll have 20 watches. It could be a million dollars, you know. So that is a scary thing of running a business with shipping involved and uh and that kind of stuff, right?

[00:26:07]It's scary, but like as long as you follow the instructions of our insurance company, it's not FedEx who ensures it.

[00:26:15]It's a third-party insure and they say, "Make sure to double box it, make sure to use a new box, um, make sure to use a certain type of tape." So, we pass all those instructions to the person sending us watches, but like if they don't follow one of the instructions and there is a claim, the insurance company could try to wiggle their way out of making the payout.

[00:26:38]>> Man, that is that is scary.

[00:26:41]>> It's a little bit scary, but through FedEx, you can ensure up to 200k with the companies we use. Beyond 200,000, you have to use an armored delivery service.

[00:26:51]>> Oh, wow.

[00:26:52]>> There's two major companies. One is Mala Mit, the other is Ferrari. But like they send armed guards, usually ex police officers to your building and they come in, you know, uh with with gun exposed and they make you sign papers and then they take it in their truck and then they drive it to the airport directly and then the same type of people are on the other end. Ar armored people pick it up and then they bring it to its next location. So that you can ensure like I don't even know what the limit is.

[00:27:23]>> That's a that's a good gig. You know, in LA a lot of the retired cops, they become um set, you know, security. So they sit around a film set that's on the streets, you know, and they block a street off and they sit on their uh motorcycle all day and just make sure nobody's trying to hit the set. But that's a good gig actually, you know, for a retired cop. My buddy's a retired cop and uh I'm sure he would like to do that if they make some good money. You know, >> they probably pay them pretty well, but it's like, you know, maybe sitting on a set watching over security is probably less scary than actually having to transport potentially multi-million dollar packages where, you know, thieves are looking for you to slip up.

[00:28:11]>> Yeah. So, I I would hope that they pay those guys better than maybe just sitting and and watching a venue, >> of course. Now, let's get into a little bit about the market. Uh, of course, it got lunacy during co all watches were triple. If you got a Daytona uh Panda and it was 16 grand new, you could sell it at some point. They even got up to 50, which was insane. Then it slowly, and this is my favorite thing, people go the, "Yeah, the market's kind of uh dead now." And I go, "Where in the world can I make double my money in an hour?" You let me know because now watches are all pretty much around double. Um, if it's a a blackface Daytona, uh, other than, you know, Paddics, they're still way up there. Um, but everything seems to be about double now. uh meaning, you know, if you're a normal person, you can't walk into Rolex and just buy a sub still, which is uh kind of interesting. It has kind of slowed off in the last 6 months. Do you see the market going down more with this mad inflation and the war and the tariffs and all this? What do you see?

[00:29:29]to be honest, prices seem to continue creeping up and um the volume of transactions we're doing is still steadily increasing though. I mean that could just be due to uh the natural progression of our business and social media and just building more customers. But as far as like pricing goes, it it doesn't seem to be slowing down. And like you just look at that newer release, the the AP Royal Pop and Swatch. Yeah, I mean people who I know are not into watches are contacting me about that. So it's like everyone is thinking about watches for whatever reason. Even when I started this business back in 2015, I feel like the first five to seven years, five or six years, like people didn't really care that much about watches. And uh all of a sudden in the last several years, it's like exploded into the general public.

[00:30:27]Well, I would say that's definitely Instagram. I've been into watches for uh 38 years, 40 years.

[00:30:35]>> Yeah. You know, you should you've seen them longer than than I have.

[00:30:39]>> Yeah. So, I would say up until about, you know, Instagram really, it it became this kind of uh fabricated bling world of like Kardashian um you know, these people that were renting Ferraris to, you know, uh phony bogus influencers. But a lot of things started to happen. Hip hop started wearing watches. Not the diamond. Uh what was that dumb dude's name that went to jail and stuff? The the guy with the big old uh what was his name? He made the diamond watches for everyone. He's still around, I think. Um uh something the jeweler. What was his name?

[00:31:22]>> Jake. Jacob.

[00:31:24]>> Yeah. So he was doing all the hip-hop stuff for years, you know. And then came the um you know there was a Frank Mueller phase and then of course the um um uh what's his name that all the basketball guys have now? The big square one. What is it? Uh >> yeah, the RMS.

[00:31:44]>> Yeah, the RM. Uh those became crazy.

[00:31:48]and uh and it was all basketball and hiphop and then social media and the watches were all over the place. Prior to that, you could literally wear an aquinaut anywhere and people would think it was a Timex cuz it was a rubber strap and it just looked like a piece of [ __ ] in people's eyes. Literally, you're wearing a $40,000 watch. So, a lot of it has to do also with Rolex stopped, you know, you know, giving you watches.

[00:32:22]Before that, Ben Bridge had Rolex and Ben Bridge was in every mall and you could literally get a watch under retail every time except for the white panda uh the white Daytona. It wasn't a panda then. The up the zenith and then into their own movement. So you could literally go into a Benbridge in the middle of America and go, "I want a sub." And you go, "All right, there's 6,500 bucks, but I could probably do it for six." And you'd walk out. And now it's such a different world. And you know, and that comes down to is the Rolex shortage fabricated?

[00:33:01]Um, a lot like what's going on with Harley-Davidson right now. There's just there was so many used Rolexes on the market. there still is right now that they made it look like it was hard to get because you're like, "Why do I buy a new one? I can get this GMT for 3,500 bucks."

[00:33:18]>> Yeah. Well, sorry to put you on the spot, but let's rewind back to when you could just walk in the store and grab a Rolex for a discount. Were there any products, luxury products that you can think of that were impossible to get in trading over retail, whether it be watches or anything in the world, or is this whole new phenomenon like a just a new thing?

[00:33:40]>> Well, that's what I'm saying. Um, and you're not putting me on the spot. It really was everything you could buy if you had the money. But the particular thing was with Rolex, it just seemed like they were everywhere because they were in malls. Then they slowly took away their stuff out of Benbridge and you couldn't go get a Rolex at a mall anymore, you know, and and um yeah, I mean it there wasn't really anything that I I can think of. Maybe Ferrari, maybe. I don't think so, though. Now they have that whole rule, buy like three Ferraris if you want the la Ferrari, all of that weird [ __ ] But >> it um it is an interesting thing, but um I think that there was just I mean literally I could go to like a flea market and a guy would be selling Rolexes, you know? He'd have like GMTs and subs, you know?

[00:34:42]>> It was it was everywhere.

[00:34:44]>> Yeah, I know. I always find it interesting when people tell me what they were paying. I mean, even the prices like I I remember coming in and uh yeah, selling a a brand new Hulk for like 8,900 bucks thinking I sold it for all the money and yeah, now they're well over 20. But like even 10 years, 20 years before that, the prices people were paying were I guess that just has to do with inflation, too. But it's just funny to see how things go and hear what people have to say from prior time.

[00:35:16]>> Yeah, luxury uh lifestyle is kind of taking a hit though. If you look at like Louis Vuitton and um that kind of stuff, but then you know there's uh the Porsche market depends what who you're looking at on Instagram. Some people say they're hurting like crazy and I'm like well where the hell's that at? because uh I'll go buy four or five of them and put them in the garage to flip or something because I don't see nothing but Porsches just going up and up and up and they you know so I really don't know where the market's going to go. But I do know that Rolex is still double and stuff like the OP Tiffany 41 is still triple. Um so is the celebration dial. Um and the new uh Jubilee dial is going to be crazy. And >> I already saw one pop up for like 28,000.

[00:36:11]>> 28,000, you know. Now let's >> the retail's like six.

[00:36:16]>> Yeah. Well, they raised it to 72 now because uh >> 72 >> tariffs. Yeah.

[00:36:22]>> But I watch it happen every single year.

[00:36:25]Same here.

[00:36:26]>> As soon as the first one pops on the market, someone dumb enough pays. Even I've had customers who wanted to be first and I tell them like, "You could buy this for 28 and in six months you're probably going to lose 10 grand. Are you sure you want to be first?" They go, "Yeah, I want to be first." Well, that's funny you bring that up because I think the first time I really saw the market go crazy other than a whitefaced Daytona was the first year of the Greenlands Milgals. Now, this thing was the first time I ever saw a watch, a steel watch going for 20 grand. This is the first 6 months they were out because supposedly the green lenses were hard to make and they made a bunch and then they couldn't make a bunch more. So, there was just none and people were paying like 20 grand for that thing, man.

[00:37:21]>> That must have been what in the late >> 2005 or something?

[00:37:24]>> 2000s. Yeah.

[00:37:25]>> Yeah. when the first year, the first six months, I remember I was in Aspen and the guy had one, it was 20 grand.

[00:37:33]>> Yeah. I never heard that before. That's super interesting.

[00:37:36]>> Yeah. Yeah. Now, I don't know if that was a myth that the green um you know, crystal was hard to produce. They're having problems with it. You know, it's all, you know, street here. But I do know that it was the first watch in the steel world other than a Daytona that was crazy money, you know.

[00:37:57]>> Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna try to dive into that. See if I can find any old articles because uh that'd be fun to to talk about.

[00:38:03]>> Now, let's talk some underrated watches before we get out of here. And also, thank you for doing the show because I really uh I really love what you do and uh you're one of my favorites on the planet in the watch game. Um, I think the most underrated watch right now, I like to do this, uh, I see John Mayer do it once in a while and then all a sudden a watch goes through the roof, but I think the platinum dial Yacht Master 40 mm is the most underrated Rolex going right now. I think it's beautiful. It has the red hand. It's it, you know, it's nobody has it. You can wear it and it'll be cool as [ __ ] I think this thing is so undervalued it's not even funny.

[00:38:51]There was a time like even a year ago you could almost get them for like 6,500 bucks.

[00:38:57]>> Yeah, you can still get them for like eight and under today, I think.

[00:39:02]>> That's fantastic.

[00:39:04]>> Yeah, that is a good deal for that watch.

[00:39:08]I do like those.

[00:39:10]What do you think is underrated >> in the Rolex world?

[00:39:15]>> Any any world, you know?

[00:39:20]H >> you see this is why uh my videos come up better. I have all the time to come up with my >> I get it. But do you ever look at something and you go, I can't believe this thing's only 7,500 bucks. I think the um Explorer 1 with the for uh the 40 mm or the sorry the 39 millimeter they only made it a couple years. I think the oneyear Sea Dweller that they made it it's the um 4000 that they right before they discontinued it they made it with a ceramic bezel one year only. I think that is one of the coolest Rolexes ever made.

[00:40:05]Yeah, that is a really I mean they'll sell for the same price as uh Submariners now and it's it's way more rare.

[00:40:12]>> Way more. One year.

[00:40:16]One year on the ceramic bezel and then they discontinue it and they come out with that ugly 42 with the red and the cyclops. It's not even That's not a Sea Dweller. It's got a Cyclops on it.

[00:40:27]>> Yeah. No, I'm with you. But uh I guess I don't know. They they wanted to go deeper in the ocean, so they had to make it a little bit uh thicker, a little bit wider.

[00:40:37]>> Yeah. Get out of here. Now, a guy calls you. He says, "Hey, Austin, I'm looking for a Lon Farier. I don't care when it is. Do you constant?" Because this happened recently. A guy hit you and then [ __ ] one came into your your lap out of nowhere. But what kind of network are you looking at? these wholesale networks you talk about all the time like I'm going to go online and see what's out there. What is that?

[00:41:05]>> Um, do you want me to show you on my phone what it what it looks like?

[00:41:08]>> I do because do you have to have a a dealer license or how do you get on this?

[00:41:14]>> No, you don't need a dealer license, but they're they're private groups and they're invite only. So, like could I technically get you in one of these groups or all of the groups? Yes. But I'd have to like tell them, "Hey, this is uh Dean. He's part of my company.

[00:41:32]He's going to be operating in the space.

[00:41:34]Get him in."

[00:41:35]>> Yeah.

[00:41:35]>> But like >> you also, it's not something you want to pass out. Like I've gotten people into groups who are young in the industry who I really like and I'm like, I'm just going to do this person a favor and help them develop their career. But like >> you wouldn't want to put regular retail customers in there in in a in a space that is designed for dealers.

[00:41:57]>> Well, yeah. Also, one thing about that too is maybe the guy has a fake credit card or something later on and some kind of scams go on or or they just become idiots on there like I can't believe that blah blah blah or whatever.

[00:42:10]>> Yeah. No. And yeah, you have to vouch for anyone that uh that you put into these groups. So, if you add someone into a group and they do bad business, it reflects poorly on you.

[00:42:20]>> Okay. So, >> it's probably better just to invite no one.

[00:42:23]>> Let's do this now. Okay. Looking for a steel uh Vasheron 222. So, let's fire up and see what's out there. I'm just curious.

[00:42:35]>> You know, the thing is there's so many uh of these groups that every time I open WhatsApp, it it's pretty >> just uh Oh, there we go. No, it's now it's alive. But I'll probably get in trouble for showing all these. Dealers don't like coming. But uh so these are all the groups. You'll see they all have 999 messages because I'm open on them.

[00:42:58]>> But they span across basically every region of the world.

[00:43:03]>> Yeah, >> I think it's over. I know there's more.

[00:43:06]Yeah. But um >> but is there a billboard where you go this is what I'm looking at and all of those look at it?

[00:43:14]>> Well, if I search uh Vashron 222, then the results will pop up of like what was most recently posted with those words, >> right?

[00:43:25]>> So we can see where they were posted.

[00:43:27]And if I was looking for one, uh the way it works is I have to like write what I'm looking for and post it in all these groups. But to post it in each group probably takes like 15 minutes of just sitting there >> and pressing on your phone, which I stopped doing it. I >> I have a guy here who uh whenever we need to search for something, he sits and does that for me now.

[00:43:50]>> Yeah.

[00:43:50]>> But um yeah, I mean it's it's like there's a million things to do throughout the day, so you just have to pick and choose wisely where you should uh dedicate your time. But like yeah, these groups are interesting. But the only problem is when you find watches in other countries, which a lot of these dealers are are based outside of the US, getting the watches into the US is uh a little bit complicated.

[00:44:17]>> Is that because of the tariffs now?

[00:44:19]>> Yeah.

[00:44:20]>> Wow. Yeah.

[00:44:21]>> And before it would just be sent to you overnight, right?

[00:44:25]>> Yeah. There were still um there were still import taxes, but they weren't as bad. And like depending on how you declare it, you can put most of the value on the movement and they charge you less percentage on the movement rather than like the case and the bracelet and the crystal. So it's like where do you divvy up the money on the paperwork will determine how much you end up having to pay the import taxes.

[00:44:49]But now it's like a flat 15% across the board.

[00:44:52]>> No. Are these guys um dealers that are getting rid of stuff or are they people that have gotten stuff in the gray market and trading?

[00:45:03]>> I mean, a lot of them are guys like me who just operate in the space. So, let's say like let's say, you know, we have about 250 watches in stock.

[00:45:13]>> Wow.

[00:45:14]>> We want to sell them to retail customers. that is like the best because they'll usually pay the most and you get to develop relationships like that. But if we have some sort of oddball watch, for instance, I'm wearing this uh debun ketal. All right, they they barely made any of them. And if a dealer put in one of these groups, I'm looking for that watch.

[00:45:39]It's not like uh you don't want to sell to a dealer because they're not going to pay enough. Like if he's got a customer looking for this exact piece that we have, therefore, we can quote him a price, he'll quote his customer, and if his customer pays it, like we're we're we're getting what we needed to get out of it. Whereas, we won't post in these groups and sell something for a dealer to just stock the item. Like, we're not going to sell so low that a dealer is just like, "Yeah, I'll buy that from TNFs and I'll put it in my inventory."

[00:46:09]The only time we sold at dealers is like they they already have it sold to someone else and they're already paying us top dollar.

[00:46:16]>> Right. Right.

[00:46:16]>> Does that make sense?

[00:46:17]>> Oh, yeah. I get it. Well, it's like you you're like, "Okay, my customer is looking for this. Hey, sent in." Now, I want to tell people they can send in their watches and put them on consignment. Say you're looking for your dream watch. You want a uh aquinaut and you've got five Rolexes and you just want to have one watch. You can send them to Austin. he'll put them on consignment and in the meantime he knows they're eventually going to sell. He's going to start looking for this watch for you so he can get it whenever it comes available. And I think that is the best way to roll because a perfect example is just six months ago there was some Lauron Farier's uh sport autos all over the place. There still is, but they're like 10 grand too much money now because it was a hot minute at watches and wonders. But that'll cool off again.

[00:47:08]But uh you know uh you got your watches in there now. He's looking for something. He's got it. And by by the time he gets it, maybe all your watches are sold or whatever. Man, that's just I love that uh format. Also, he recently came up with a format if you find a watch that's a good deal, uh you could sell it to Austin, you know, like a middleman deal, which I love that. like you're almost a a satellite watch, you know, hunter, >> you know. That was a that was a good concept, but uh it it didn't actually turn into uh people finding deals. I guess it's it's harder to find deals than uh >> Oh, yeah.

[00:47:48]>> than than we make it sound. But regarding the whole consignment thing, some people get skewed out by that.

[00:47:55]They're like they they view dealers who want to take watches on consignment as a lack of funds.

[00:48:01]But it's not a lack of funds. It's more so if if we only offer you 10,000 for your watch, but you want 11, I'll say we think it's possible, but we need to find a buyer for it. I'm not I'm not willing to give you 11, but I'm also saying it's not impossible. That's when consignment can uh be helpful.

[00:48:19]>> Well, I think it's better because, you know, I don't look at it as lack of funds. I look at it as you got thousands of people a week looking at your site.

[00:48:28]This guy's trying to sell his watch on Facebook Marketplace where there's a shitload of phony ones. There's all kinds of flippers. Uh there's fake money out there. You know, you got to have a a a currency checker. Uh you could get robbed. Whatever. You send them there.

[00:48:44]Somebody could pay on a credit card.

[00:48:46]They're not taking credit cards. I don't trust Vinmo, Zel, any of that when it comes to uh high-end stuff, you know.

[00:48:53]So, it's in a safe place at TNS and customers are on there every day looking for watches.

[00:49:00]>> Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, the the best customers that we deal with are the ones who, you know, that their time is better spent doing what they do professionally rather than trying to squeeze an extra few dollars out of selling their watch on their own.

[00:49:16]>> Oh, yeah. And the lunacy of is this still available will make you [ __ ] go nuts. I don't know why Facebook Marketplace has that goddamn button. Is this still available? Because you just >> Have you ever tried to sell a watch on your own?

[00:49:31]>> Yeah. Uh I'm I'm actually skilled at it, but And it burns me out. You know what I mean? Because it, you know, it's sketchy. It's sketchy. You don't know who the [ __ ] you're meeting. Oh, meet at the Starbucks. It's like, nah. You know, let's meet at the [ __ ] you know, a lot of people say >> police station.

[00:49:55]>> Police station. I always love that one.

[00:49:56]Like you're in the lobby. Hey, I'm getting robbed over here. They're like, I'm [ __ ] busy over here. You know, but yeah, it's um it's crazy world because the watches are worth a lot of money and uh when you're not rich, I'm not rich or whatever. It could be all your money. You're like, "Okay, I got to sell this watch and and pay some bills."

[00:50:16]And if you got robbed, [ __ ] you know.

[00:50:21]>> Yeah. No, it's >> What's your favorite watch?

[00:50:25]>> That happens, too. Favorite watch?

[00:50:29]>> It's always changing, you know? I always get something that I think is is my favorite, but um I mean like yeah, there's there's some pieces that >> you just can't get now that I want so bad like that those >> Rex Rex Heppy. Have you ever seen those?

[00:50:46]>> No.

[00:50:48]>> He's this uh small watch maker in Switzerland.

[00:50:53]The retail prices are probably under $100,000 and he makes everything by hand. If you get one, it's worth a million plus.

[00:51:02]>> WHOA. How do you get one on a long list?

[00:51:07]Cuz that's a [ __ ] house. You take your down payment on your house. You skip that and you buy this watch. And then you pay cash for a [ __ ] house.

[00:51:17]>> Well, the people he's giving these watches to probably already have a few houses, but like >> I don't know. I mean, you probably had to I think you have to put a a deposit down whether it's 50% or 100% 10 years in advance. But even at this point, he's probably not taking like his book of business could be sold out for the next until he dies, right?

[00:51:41]>> I don't know. Right.

[00:51:43]>> And he can only make a few watches a year.

[00:51:45]>> There's a few watch makers like that, but he's like one of the most soughtafter at the moment.

[00:51:53]>> Yeah, man. That's that's interesting, you know, to think about. Uh when you have everything and you're like, I'm waiting for this guy to make my watch.

[00:52:01]Should be here in about seven years.

[00:52:03]Hopefully, you're alive. You know, it's like >> But as far as like Yeah. favorite watch.

[00:52:09]I actually don't wear a watch outside of the office that much, >> right?

[00:52:13]>> Uh because >> it's kind of sad, but like when you kind of when you make yourself a public figure.

[00:52:20]>> Yeah.

[00:52:20]>> Um >> Oh, yeah. My face is recognizable.

[00:52:23]>> Yeah.

[00:52:24]>> I work at the same place. I go to and from the same place every day.

[00:52:28]>> Y >> and I deal in expensive items.

[00:52:31]>> So if I'm wearing watches, I I did unfortunately learn the hard way a few years.

[00:52:35]>> You got robbed.

[00:52:36]>> Yeah. And what what happened? Philly, huh?

[00:52:39]>> Yeah. So, uh, I, you know, this was when our our business was growing and I was getting these six figure watches and I was so excited. So, I'd put it on my wrist and I'd take a video and put it on our Instagram. And then I, you know, just walk out of the store with it. And these guys just followed me home uh, an hour outside the city. And I got out of my car in my driveway and they run up with guns, lay me on the floor, take the watch.

[00:53:06]I got the watch back like a year and a half later. I tracked it down all the way to Hong Kong.

[00:53:12]>> What? How did that happen?

[00:53:15]>> It's a pretty ridiculous story. But just to to close that last loop, uh I've seen it happen with countless other creators who like they make themselves public.

[00:53:26]They tell everyone, "Oh, I'm wearing my expensive watch." And they all get robbed.

[00:53:30]>> Well, follow the home robberies three years ago were huge here in LA. Huge.

[00:53:35]It's just there's a lot of bad people in the world and if you make yourself an easy target then they're going to target you.

[00:53:40]>> Yeah.

[00:53:41]>> So, uh I'm alive to tell the story so I'm thankful for that. But yeah, so these guys they they follow me home. It was a PC perpetual calendar on a full bracelet rose gold and um pretty rare watch and I would just religiously search for it online on these WhatsApp groups on eBay on Chrono24 and look for it with no box or papers and if I ever found one with no boxes or papers I'd ask for more photos to try to find some like you know I had a scuff on one section of it or the link was set and the pin was a certain way.

[00:54:20]And uh finally this guy sent me pictures and I was like that's my [ __ ] watch.

[00:54:25]>> Um and he's based in Hong Kong and I said hey can I get a I said I'll buy it you know I think he offered it to me for like 120,000 like 20,000 under the going rate but it was no box or papers. So I said yeah I'll take it.

[00:54:40]Make me an invoice with the serial number. And he goes, "Uh, yeah, no serial number on invoice."

[00:54:48]And I'm like, "What do you mean no serial on invoice?" All right. At that point, I knew that he knew he had a hot watch.

[00:54:55]>> Wow.

[00:54:55]>> I was trying just to make him give me an invoice with the serial number and then I was going to tell him like, "Hey, this is stolen. You just proved it. Like, you got to get this back to me." But the fact that he knew I I knew I was dealing with someone who maybe deals in stolen goods. So, I was like, "All right, you're in Hong Kong. I have a really good friend in Hong Kong." And I called him and I said, "Are you willing to help me?

[00:55:21]I'll give you 25% ownership of this watch if you help me recover it." And he said, "Yeah, I'll help you." So, I send the guy to my friend's office. As soon as he gets there, my friend calls the cops. The cops come. They confiscate the watch because I'm saying it's mine. He's saying it's his. Then it goes into the police and uh we basically have to like fight over the watch. I had to get an attorney in Hong Kong and um they're fighting tooth and nail saying, "Oh, why don't we just settle? If you give us 50,000, we'll drop the case." I'm like, "I'm not giving you a dollar. Like, I have it's my watch." Like, it was stolen off my wrist. I have all the original receipts and documents and blah blah blah. So after I spend another 15 grand in legal fees, the day of reckoning comes and they don't even show up in court. Um, so then the cops give it back to me, but it's in Hong Kong. They said, "You have to fly here to get it." And like I have a newborn baby at this point. I'm like, "I'm not flying there.

[00:56:22]Like how how can I just get this watch?

[00:56:24]Can I tell my friend to get it?" They're like, "Yeah, but you have to sign this paperwork and it can't be digital copy.

[00:56:31]It's got to be like like wet on the paper. So, I sign this paperwork and I freaking FedEx it to Hong Kong and my friend brings it to the police office and they give it to him and then I had to wait for my friend to visit the US.

[00:56:43]He came like three or four months later, handd delivered me the watch and uh that was it.

[00:56:48]>> Yeah. I mean, so the guy comes to your buddy's office, your buddy looks, he sees the serial number.

[00:56:57]>> Yeah, that is the very first thing we did. Wow, man.

[00:57:02]>> And the guy doesn't get arrested.

[00:57:05]>> He did get arrested, but apparently he was the delivery guy between um right >> the dealer.

[00:57:14]>> He was the gopher.

[00:57:16]>> Yeah. So I I I mean we we said just let the guy go. I don't know if they actually listened to us and let him go, but they did let him go.

[00:57:24]>> Damn, man. That's a crazy story, you know. Um, >> yeah, >> and that, you know, that >> that was going on. Uh, follow home. I mean, dudes were eating in outdoor cafes in Beverly Hills even a year ago and guys would just roll up, grab the [ __ ] watch and, you know, these rashards and just be out of there, you know? Uh there it's it's a crazy world because if you are in the celebrity world just a perfect example I went to the Kevin Hart roast on Sunday and you know there they are on the red carpet and the people are like what's on the wrist today you know and and then [ __ ] man you know these guys have these watches you know now sometimes the people the companies give them to them to wear on the red carpet but still they're are celebrities they're going to have some watches you know.

[00:58:18]>> Yeah. I mean, I imagine the security at a place like that, but like are there follow homes from events like that that happen?

[00:58:25]>> Well, a couple years ago there would be like I believe these valets were tipping off these shady uh groups and they'd be like such and such is at you know uh you know this restaurant he just pulled in.

[00:58:42]I saw he had an AP on. and you know they give him like 500 bucks for the tip and then they follow the guy home. It's mostly restaurant stuff I always see.

[00:58:52]It's not events cuz events you can't really get near. But also they find out where these [ __ ] live and they break into their houses because they have multiple houses. They might be living in Miami for a few months. You see these guys, they grab the safe, they throw it over the fence. You know, it's uh it's a crazy world. And at the end of the day, you just have to have your watches insured so you save your life and, you know, don't be dumb like you ain't taking this watch, you know.

[00:59:19]>> Yeah, I know. And it's scary. I mean, like when that happened to me, that was uh maybe like a year into making videos and I was ready to quit. I was like, like I almost lost my life over this. I, you know, trying to build a family. Like I was ready to give it all up and quit.

[00:59:37]And then like you let it settle in and you're like, "No, [ __ ] these guys." Like I'm not going to let them take away my livelihood and my passion for something.

[00:59:46]I'm just going to be smarter and learn from the experience and keep it moving.

[00:59:50]So, you know, I I'm glad I I I was really ready to be like, is this even worth it or should I just go into something where I'm not having to deal in expensive items and and uh feel like I'm a potential target?

[01:00:06]>> Yeah. Well, listen. Great talking to you. I enjoy your uh your watch content.

[01:00:12]You and that angry older white guy that's in the New York Diamond District.

[01:00:16]I forget his name. He's always >> Manny or uh No, Buckley. Buckley.

[01:00:22]>> Yeah. Like, [ __ ] watches and wonders.

[01:00:24]You know, he's >> I'm friends with him. He's funny, but yeah, he's a little brash.

[01:00:29]>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. I like him. I like him.

[01:00:31]Uh I think there's uh room for like you and him. their different styles and um you know it's it's really um as much as I always say like yeah I'm I'm over watches or whatever I'll never be over watches. I'll never be over uh you know denim. I'll never be over Porsches. It's just a a thing I love and thank God I have a passion for something and uh and thank God like I said I find these I just found this brand last week. I went to this micro brand uh fair and there was two. One was this uh hairbring. You know them? It's a husband and wife. They make watches in Austria.

[01:01:15]>> Yeah. I haven't had one, but I I know they look pretty cool.

[01:01:18]>> Oh my god, I love it. And then the other one is that guy in Germany with the Sherpa the the you know the Sherpa watch here. I'll show it to you. I love this.

[01:01:31]He bought the old brand Sherpa and re refired it up and he um he's making these double compressors, you know, super compressors and they look beautiful. Let's see if I can show it to you here. There it is with the two winders.

[01:01:50]>> Huh. Kind of looks like an old glycine.

[01:01:53]Yeah, it's got the um the inner be it's got a bezel, but it's inside the watch and you turn it with one of the winders instead of having a traditional Submariner style bezel on the outside.

[01:02:07]And I think this is one of the best watches I've ever seen for six grand, you know. Um bead blasted case. And then I love Torn Ray, the reissues. Uh they do the Blanc Pawn. uh exact replica for 900 bucks and it is fantastic, you know.

[01:02:29]>> Yeah, I haven't seen that one either.

[01:02:31]>> Yeah, check them out. They just did a pre-order today. They sell out and then you got to wait a year and it comes, but it's well worth it. It's 900 bucks.

[01:02:40]>> Yeah, I'm going to check it out. Uh but yeah, anyway, I'm a big fan of all the work you do and honored to uh just to have you as a customer also and to bring me on the podcast. So yeah, thank you so much.

[01:02:52]>> Oh yeah, I can't wait to do Philly so I can come hang out and um and thank you for doing it. Once again, it's TNS Diamonds is the Instagram and you can call Austin at the store or whatever. If you have watches you want to trade or sell or whatever, call him. I would highly recommend him. Uh I love I love your work. Thank you for doing the show, brother.

[01:03:15]>> Yeah, thanks, man. I appreciate you.

[01:03:17]>> I'll see you later. All right. See you next time. Later, bud.