Contributor, Benzinga
April 17, 2023
Bezel
Overall Rating:
securely through Bezel's website

The luxury watch market has experienced rapid growth in recent years, with the market totaling $75 billion. With this growth comes more efficient counterfeiters and bad actors, making it increasingly difficult for buyers to ensure the authenticity of the watches they purchase. This is where Bezel comes in; launched in 2022, the platform’s extensive authentication takes the guesswork out of buying luxury watches, providing peace of mind to buyers. 

By leveraging digital and in-hand authentication approaches overseen by its in-house experts, the platform eliminates the risks of buying counterfeit or fraudulent watches, making it the most trusted online marketplace for luxury watches. With Bezel, buyers can confidently purchase high-end luxury watches, knowing they are getting the real deal. Sellers or resellers, including professional dealers and individuals, listing their luxury watches for sale or resale on the platform get the best prices for their timepieces. 

If you are looking for a unique and stylish timepiece that reflects your style, Bezel is the place to go. Benzinga spotlights Bezel, explaining how the platform helps sellers and consumers get the best deals. 

Pros
  • Highly curated choice of luxury timepieces — Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe and more
  • Intuitive and user-friendly mobile app
  • Efficient in-house concierge services
  • Excellent customer service
  • Fully insured overnight shipping or delivery from seller to Bezel HQ for authentication and from Bezel HQ to buyer
  • Low selling fee
  • Warranty offered at checkout
  • 5,000+ luxury watches available and growing every day
Cons
  • Delivery takes about 2-5 days after purchase as a result of Bezel’s authentication process
  • Watches delivered to U.S. destinations only. Plans to launch internationally towards the end of 2023

Bezel Ratings at a Glance

Product Offerings
Customer Service
Investment and Pricing
Mobile App
User Experience
Review

Bezel Product Offerings

Bezel provides a highly secured and trusted online marketplace for luxury watch enthusiasts to source the high-end watch of their dreams at an affordable price with guaranteed authenticity. Sellers, including commercial dealers and private individuals, list their luxury watches for sale on the platform. Buyers browse available listings and make a purchase. The service offerings are described below.

Seller Services 

Bezel helps luxury watch sellers (individual sellers and commercial dealers) sell or resell their pre-owned luxury watches at an excellent price with low selling fees. Listing your pre-owned luxury watch for sale or resale is hassle-free. To get started, you register as a vendor and complete verification by providing the requisite information. 

You list your watch with high-quality photos and complete details of current condition, service history, repairs and accessories. Providing these details makes the piece more appealing to potential buyers and allows the Bezel Watch Operations team to run through its digital authentication process. When a buyer purchases your item, they pay through a secure payment flow. The process works like this — after the seller confirms the sale, they receive a prepaid shipping label and overnight the watch to Bezel for authentication. Once it passes authentication, funds are released to the seller, and Bezel overnights the watch to the buyer. At all shipping steps, the watch is fully insured, the cost of which is covered by Bezel. 

Buyer Services 

Bezel offers a diverse inventory of luxury watches, real-time availability updates and pricing via its website or mobile app. A highly curated selection of thousands of the most collectible, rarest, hardest-to-find watches from brands like Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, Hublot and so many more are available. Buyers can browse by thematic collections, trending lists or personalized recommendations based on their specific interests, enabling them to buy authentic luxury watches that are verified on various touch points. 

To purchase a luxury watch on Bezel, you create a customer account via the website or the mobile app. You can then browse the online marketplace and can filter by brand, price, case size, material and dial color. Multiple filtering helps you narrow down your selection, especially if you don't know the exact reference number of the item. 

To guarantee authenticity, Bezel leverages multi-step authentication. The first step is digital authentication, during which the item's photos and description are exhaustively assessed before listing. Then after purchase, the items are shipped to Bezel's Watch Operations team for more extensive and rigorous authentication. 

During this in-house authentication process, Bezel's team of experts from the largest luxury watch auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s conduct inspections on all the watch details, from movement to dials, bracelets, cases, and more. The company's in-house watchmakers perform tests to ensure the watch is operating smoothly. If deemed inauthentic, the buyer is fully refunded.

Bezel runs all watch serial numbers through the largest database of lost and stolen watches to verify that there are no open claims against it. These rigorous checks, inspections and tests reinforce trust and guarantee authenticity. Sellers engaging in detrimental and undesirable behavior are kicked off the platform, and their accounts are terminated. 

Concierge Services 

Suppose the luxury watch you want is not listed. In that case, you can leverage the platform's concierge service to help you find it. Bezel offers a concierge service with a dedicated client advisor for every user. These trusted experts can source any watch you're looking for from Bezel’s vast network of trusted sellers, as well as advise on pricing, styling and finding the perfect watch for you — and any other questions you may have. 

To use the concierge service within the app, click on the "Contact concierge" button on the model page or by chatting with the team on the website. From there, a human watch expert will connect with you personally to answer specific questions or to help you with general questions. When you’re new to a field or venturing deeper into a topic, it can be hard to even know what questions to ask. Being able to talk to a live expert who cares about your needs makes Bezel the best place to buy a luxury watch.

Other Services

Bezel provides rich and extensive educational resources and content ranging from editorial collections of luxury watches via its blog to industry news and pop culture. Its Journal section publishes fascinating and useful articles about the specifics of buying luxury watches, including the Patek Philippe Nautilus or the Rolex Submariner. You just won’t see info like “How to Talk About Watches at Thanksgiving” anywhere else. The site is pure gold — no pun intended — for the kind of sophisticated buyer that Bezel caters to. Benzinga rates Bezel 5 out of 5 on products and service offerings. 

Bezel Customer Service

Customer service is available via live chat, phone and email. Besides these avenues, you can stay connected with the company via its social media channels, including Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. You can also get answers to your questions through the FAQs page. Benzinga rates Bezel 4.5 out of 5 on customer service. 

Bezel Investment and Pricing

Bezel offers competitively priced luxury watches that appeal to its target customers, ranging from middle to upper-class individuals with a high net worth or disposable income who are willing to spend significant amounts of money on luxury items like watches. Sellers enjoy exceptionally low sales fees, meaning more money in their pockets. Setting up an account for listing and customers' accounts is free. Benzinga rates Bezel 4.5 out of 5 on pricing.  

Bezel Mobile App

Bezel fronts a highly intuitive and user-friendly mobile app that helps streamline the accessibility of the platform's core services and minimizes hassles. The mobile app has a 4.8 rating on the App Store, which reflects its excellent ease of usage. However, the app is only compatible with iOS at the moment. Benzinga rates Bezel’s mobile app 4.5 out of 5. 

Bezel User Experience

Thanks to its multi-step authentication, Bezel is one of the most trusted and secured online marketplaces for luxury timepieces. While you can access most features on the company's website, the mobile app further streamlines accessibility enabling you to shop, search and filter to your specifications. Suppose you're not ready to make a purchase right away. In that case, you can add it to your Want List on the mobile app and be notified when new listings of the model become available. 

Suppose that you don't see the watch you want, or you have a budget in mind but aren't sure what watch is right for you. In that case, the concierge team is readily available to act as your personal advisor, helping you to find the perfect timepiece that suits you. The concierge team can source almost any watch not listed on the platform within 3-5 days. Bezel's core services and approach to delivering such services through its website and highly-intuitive mobile app make for an excellent user experience. 

Users trust Bezel even more based on the confidence evidenced by backers like BoxGroup, Courtside VC, Shrug Capital, Abstract Ventures, Operator Partners and John Reardon, the former international head of watches at Christie’s. Athletes who have invested in the platform include NBA player Kyle Kuzma and NFL players Emmanuel Acho and Marlon Humphrey. Add to that Kevin Hart and John Legend, and you know you’re in good company. Benzinga rates Bezel 5 out of 5 on user experience. 

Bezel vs. Competitors

Bezel has a few competitors like Chrono24 and eBay. Like Bezel, these two platforms deal with pre-owned luxury timepieces, though their approaches to authenticity and inspection aren’t as detailed and comprehensive as Bezel. 

At Bezel, all inventory listed is in stock and is run against a loss registry to confirm that it has never been reported lost or stolen. However, watches with aftermarket parts can regularly be found on eBay, and about 30% of watches over $2,000 listed on Chrono24 in the U.S. are not “in stock,” providing a frustrating customer experience.

Bezel accepts returns on most of its watches within 24 hours of delivery, whereas not all watches are eligible for return at eBay. Chrono24 does not guarantee the functionality or performance of the watches sold.

Bezel Review

Bezel is a highly-secured and well-rounded online marketplace for luxury watches helping to connect sellers or resellers with buyers seeking unique, stylish and high-quality watches. The website is easy to navigate, allowing visitors to browse and purchase products quickly and easily. The robust and highly-intuitive mobile app further streamlines accessibility on the go. 

Account setup or registration is a breeze and costs $0 for sellers and buyers. And the platform's low sales fees mean more money for sellers and better prices for buyers. The platform offers excellent educational resources to enlighten key market participants about luxury watches and related topics. Based on these facts, Benzinga rates Bezel 5 out of 5 overall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Is Bezel legit?

A

Yes, Bezel is a legitimate online luxury watch marketplace — so much so that it’s backed by the likes of famous, fashion-forward celebrities like comedian Kevin Hart, recording artist John Legend, former Disney President Michael Ovitz and professional athletes from the NBA and NFL. 

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