Episode Details

In This Episode

You’ll hear JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates talk with Eric Ku, watch “super dealer,” cofounder of Loupe This, and founder of 10 Past Ten and Los Angeles Watchworks. Eric recounts the origin story of when he first started his collection of mechanical watches, the beginnings of watch-collecting on the internet, the evolving relationship between brands and the pre-owned market, and he names a few micro-brands that have yet to get their due.

Show Notes

02:20 – The hosts introduce Eric Ku

04:20 – How Eric came to own his first watches

08:10 – The early days of the internet and online watch collecting

10:15 – Eric’s main business focuses

15:00 – Brands’ relationships with the secondhand market

20:45 – How Loupe This got started

25:00 – Some great lesser-known watch brands

27:30 – Eric’s first watch, “the one that got away”

Episode Credits

Hosts: Rob Bates and Victoria Gomelsky

Producer and engineer: Natalie Chomet

Plugs: loupethis.com, 10pastten.com, lawatchworks.com, @jckmagazine, JCKonline

Show Recap

Eric’s Watch Origin Story

Eric talks about where his love of watches came from. He subscribed to National Geographic and always noticed the Rolex ad on the back cover. In particular, he has been interested in mechanical watches and the history behind them. While in college at the University of California, Berkeley, Eric didn’t find a lot of others who shared his interest, however.

When Eric came into some money playing the stock market in college, it allowed him to buy some of his first nice watches. Soon after, he lost that same fortune the same way he had made it and had to sell them all. In a way, this quickly introduced him to both sides of the watch-selling business.

Eric’s first watch? An Omega Speedmaster Automatic with a clear display back. Back when he had purchased it, it cost him $999. At the time, he thought that this price was the benchmark for a “nice” watch. His first vintage watch was a Rolex Red Submariner. He got it in Columbus, Ohio, at an NAWCC (National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors) show. From the beginning, Eric had been drawn to Rolex because of the brand’s tie to feats of human ingenuity dating back to the 1930s.

The Watch Market Now and Then

During the early days of the internet and internet watch collecting, his friends used to fax pictures of watches to him! It was an active scene. He talked to other collectors online. He looked at other sites to learn about watches. The commercial part of it was at trade shows, not online yet. NAWCC would have a show in Pasadena, Calif., twice a year. He would attend these regional shows, walk around, meet people, and all the trading would happen there.

Eric’s Collection of Watch Businesses

What are Eric’s main business focuses? He started 10 Past Ten in the early 2000s, which is a website that sells vintage Rolex sport watches. This is one of the segments that is most heavily collected. It started as a part-time job. After a “moment of clarity,” he gave notice at his day job, rented an office, and never looked back.

Six years ago, Eric partnered with his friend Beau Goorey and started