Ayaan Gandhi is not your typical 18-year-old. Less than a year after he started his luxury watch reselling company, the Dubai-born youngster says his business has already made $6 million in revenue. And he has even bigger plans to realise before he turns 20.
Gandhi, who turned 18 last month, was only 17 when he started AG Timepieces, which stocks and sells rare watches, some worth more than $1 million.
"These are watches you can't walk into the boutique and buy. There's maybe a five or 10-year waiting list," he tells The National. "And some people don't want to wait that long. That's where we come in. Through our connections, we'll bring the watches you want to you."
The market for luxury watches, he adds, is booming. "It's definitely a status symbol for a lot of people that buy the watches from us. They are obviously high net worth individuals, but also people who like to turn heads wherever they are."
Gandhi, who is Indian, says he's always had an entrepreneurial streak inspired by his father who owns a shipping and logistics business. However, his first attempt at starting on his own, with a jet ski leasing business when he was only 16, failed to take off.
"I was really disheartened by that, but I didn't give up. I wanted to make something to call my own," he says. "Then sometime in 2022, I read an article about the scarcity of luxury watches and the hype around some of the brands and I thought: 'Why don't I capitalise on this?'"
In November last year, he registered AG Timepieces under his father's name. But, he quickly adds, his dad did not give him any capital to kickstart the business.
"Initially, it was just a lot of research and sourcing the goods by myself," he recalls. "Then, three months into the business, I got a call from a friend of a friend who said he wanted a Rolex Submariner urgently. I remember running around the city negotiating the price with a supplier and making my first sale. I was ecstatic."
But Gandhi did not make any profit from that first watch, which he sold at cost price. He earned it on his second deal, a Rolex Datejust, which he sold for Dh54,500 ($14,800). "I made around Dh3,600 from that sale. It was a very small margin but that was my first hard-earned money. So I was very very happy with it."
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The business initially grew via word of mouth. And by January, Gandhi had found his stride, wheeling and dealing in valuable watches. In June, he sold his most expensive watch to date – a Patek Philippe Nautilus with Tiffany & Co dial for $1.6 million.
He puts his success down to good old-fashioned relationship-building. "I think after my eighth sale was when I realised I was really good at convincing people to trust me, and I believe that's what has got me this far," he says. "I would also say our value proposition is also the price. If you compare my price to other dealers, you would find that it's significantly lower, because I focus on higher volume and more sales, as compared to higher profits on my watches with fewer sales. I feel like it's much more effective to be liquid and move your stock. So that's my ethos."
But hustling will only get you so far. Last year, British luxury pre-owned dealer Watchfinder sounded the alarm for the rising number of sophisticated fake watches it had uncovered, with Rolex replicas accounting for about half. As many as 10 per cent of the watches received from sellers last year were determined to be fakes, according to Watchfinder chief executive Arjen van de Vall, who said they are also becoming harder to spot.
Gandhi says he has a team of experts to check every timepiece for authenticity after which they are sent to another external expert for a second round of checks before they are put on sale at AG Timepieces. "We provide a certificate of authenticity for each piece, and that's how we build that trust," he says.
Being in Dubai has been an added bonus. He says: "We have so many high net worth individuals living in the city, and it's very, very easy to connect. And everywhere you go, you can find the clients if you really try."
After recently launching his website, Gandhi is now looking further afield to expand his business. "What I want to do is globalise the business," he says. "We have agents in Monaco and Antwerp as well as Dubai. But I want to really globalise it, go into the UK and the US markets.
"I will hopefully be going to university next year in Boston, and I really want to scale it up when I'm there. I think it would be a very good opportunity for me to gain clients."
He also wants to go beyond luxury watches. "I do consider myself a serial entrepreneur. I like to make money where there is money to be made," he says with a smile. "Now I see the handbag and luxury bag market rising slowly. We have tested the waters and made a few sales, but nothing too crazy so far, but we're working to kind of expand into that market."
For now, the Year 13 student at Repton School Dubai is focused on finishing high school. "Before I turn 20, I hope to complete my studies and secure a spot at a top university," he says. "I also aim to grow my luxury watch business and expand my entrepreneurial ventures.
"I also hope to mentor young entrepreneurs and ultimately, I want to balance personal growth with meaningful contributions to both the business world and society by supporting charitable causes."
