How Kevin Ghassemi Built a Luxury Watch Empire
Kevin Ghassemi built his luxury watch presence in Dubai through a swift transition from teenage sneaker reselling to horology.
At just 17, Ghassemi turned a Stockholm raffle win into a six-figure shoe empire before channelling his high-net-worth client base into luxury watches.
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Today, he manages operations at WatchMaestro and developed ChronoStreet, the UAE’ largest independent luxury watch care center and app, which makes him a major player in Dubai’s high-stakes secondary watch market.
How His Sneaker Business Made Quick Profits
Kevin, one of the youngest entrepreneurs residing in Dubai, did not plan to sell luxury watches. He started in Stockholm, Sweden, with a lucky raffle ticket.
At 16, Kevin won the chance to buy a pair of Air Jordan 1 Retro High Royal Toe shoes for AED 800. He resold them the next day for AED 1,200, and the AED 400 profit opened his eyes to the secondary market.
In late 2020, Kevin moved to Dubai with his family. He noticed a massive, untapped demand for limited-edition sneakers among Dubai’s youth. He launched an Instagram page called @snkrbubble to share sneaker news. The page gained thousands of followers.
Unlike casual, part-time resellers, Kevin decided to establish a proper business. He registered Snkrbubble as a limited liability company (LLC) and built a dedicated website. This legal setup protected him from payment disputes and fake inventory.
Kevin focused on ultra-rare collaborations, and he bought Jordan 1 Retro High Dior shoes for AED 18,000 and sold them for AED 33,000. He secured and flipped 5 pairs of these high-value shoes. In under a year, Snkrbubble moved 400 pairs of sneakers and generated AED 600,000 in revenue.
And this sneaker success led to his next breakthrough. Kevin realized that clients who spend AED 30,000 on shoes also want to buy AED 100,000 watches. That’s where he decided to cross over into the watch world.
Finding Rare Watches in a Volatile Market
Succeeding in the secondary market requires real-time knowledge. Kevin tracks market fluctuations daily. For instance, when Rolex increased retail prices by 6% to 10% in January 2026, Kevin analyzed the data for his audience and pointed out that Rolex capped entry-level sports models like the Explorer under the AED 32,000 threshold to protect the brand’s entry point for younger collectors.
WatchMaestro lists some of the world’s most sought-after watches, including the Patek Philippe Aquanaut reference 5167A. Although the retail price is much lower, buyers in the open market pay up to AED 330,000 to bypass years on an authorized dealer’s waiting list.
Kevin’s global network allows him to source watches that standard dealers can’t find. When news outlets reported that Indian billionaire Anant Ambani gifted football star Lionel Messi a $1.2 million Richard Mille, Keven analyzed the reference on WatchMaestro’s blog, explaining its rarity to watch enthusiasts.
Growing WatchMaestro in the UAE Luxury Market
Tomas Ghassemi founded WatchMaestro in 2016 to trade, buy, and sell high-end watches in Dubai. Kevin joined the company as Operations Head, bringing his digital marketing skills and network of young collectors. In January 2023, the team took a big step by opening a physical boutique-style showroom in Concord Tower, Dubai Media City.
To show how the secondary market functions, Kevin once recorded a trade-in negotiation at the Concord Tower showroom. A client traded a single Rolex Day-Date 40. In exchange, Kevin provided three Rolex GMT-Master II models: the Sprite, the Pepsi, and the Root Beer. This deal shows how liquidity and local demand impact secondary market values in Dubai.
Kevin follows a raw approach, which builds instant credibility. Clients see how the team inspects watches and verifies their authenticity before any money changes hands.
ChronoStreet: Standardizing Trust and Watch Care
Pre-owned watch buyers want more than a transaction. In fact, they want long-term support. Kevin realized this gap and built ChronoStreet, a dedicated watch care center and mobile app. It operates out of Dubai and provides luxury watch servicing, professional polishing, repair, and authentication.
The app allows collectors to book services with transparent pricing and track their watch’s progress in real time. In August 2025, WatchMaestro partnered with ChronoStreet, allowing Kevin to offer a 1-year in-house warranty on pre-owned watches.
The expert team at ChronoStreet inspects every incoming watch and tests the movement’s accuracy and verifies every single component, and this careful checking ensures that clients receive genuine and reliable luxury timepieces.
Three Rules Kevin Ghassemi Uses to Handle the Gray Market
Kevin’s business decisions show a clear, practical strategy for surviving in the competitive watch market.
- Leveraging Existing Customers: Don’t search for new buyers from scratch. Kevin transitioned his sneaker clients, who already spent large sums on streetwear, into watch buyers.
- Build Trust Through Raw Content: Skip the fake, polished corporate videos. Kevin records real negotiations, trades, and dial inspections, showing clients exactly how he works.
- Control the Lifecycle: Don’t just sell a watch and walk away. By building ChronoStreet, Kevin can service, polish, and authenticate the watches he sells, keeping clients in his ecosystem.
