Tomas Ghassemi – Overcoming Challenges Time After Time on the Road to Success

Tomas Ghassemi is the founder of WatchMaestro, a company focused on buying, selling, and trading luxury watches in Dubai. Tomas has successfully turned his affinity for luxury watches into a full-fledged business venture. By offering a secure and convenient platform for clients to avail of a range of watch-oriented services, the company is transforming the luxury watches industry for the better. 

It has been an equally challenging and rewarding journey to the top; let’s learn more about the story behind WatchMaestro.

Explain the background of you and the Company in detail.

I am a 33-year-old Economics graduate who has been dealing with watches since childhood. I was always fascinated with watches as a child, and eventually turned watch collecting into my hobby Furthermore I knew during my teenage years that I wanted to start a business focused on watches, but I was unsure of how to proceed with it. 

Throughout my college years, I started building the foundation for WatchMaestro by doing detailed research on the industry and its growth possibilities. Building networks with fellow watch collectors from all over the world helped me get a complete picture of the role I could play in the market. I decided at some point during the research stage to do the initial setup in Dubai, the city known for its abundance of luxury watch buyers and owners. And finally, after years of planning, WatchMaestro became a reality in 2016. 

Now, our team is proud to say that we have a wide collection of premium watches from all over the world. We keep an eye on the best market deals and offer a variety of client services to ease the process of dealing with watches. Watchmaestro.com stands out from the crowd by enabling clients to buy, sell and consign luxury watches on a single online platform. 

What are your goals?

Our goal is to make watch buying, selling, and exchanging as convenient as possible. We are aware of how cumbersome it is for customers to manage high-end luxury watches, and we aim to make things more time and cost-efficient for everyone involved. From checking out watches to making payments, we work to make it all effortless.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of yourself/company right now?

Our biggest strength is our vast professional network that consists of watch buyers, collectors, traders, industry experts, and much more. When dealing with luxury watches, trust plays a huge role. Fortunately, we have been able to build a network that is entirely reliable.

What was the path you/your company took to get to where you are today?

It is our slow and steady yet highly goal-oriented approach that got us where we are today. We have been careful to bid our time and hold onto our hopes of creating a successful venture.

Why did you start (or want to be the head of) this company?

I find dealing with top luxury watches nothing less than a pleasure. As I have mentioned earlier, my love for watches runs deep. Creating a company focused on luxury watches has been a great way of turning my dreams into reality. Yes, it has been challenging, but it has also been exciting at the same time.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Winning client trust is a challenge in the luxury watch business. After all, when expensive and rare watches are involved, there is a risk of scams. However, by providing quality services throughout the years without fail, we have been able to establish ourselves as a platform that one can trust with no exceptions.

Give us one word that describes you the best.

The best word to describe me is ‘patient’ which is quite interesting considering that the company practically deals with time. I have always worked towards my goals without losing hope even when success seemed too far to reach.

What makes you excited about Mondays?

The thrill of securing a great watch deal gets me excited about Mondays. As a team, we enjoy putting our brains together and figuring out the next deal to crack.

What do you value most about your culture and vision?

At WatchMaestro, each team member clearly understands what our goals are. We do not hesitate to roll up our sleeves and work together to meet our targets. This attitude has helped us land great opportunities and enhance our business growth.

Tell us about a project that forced you to be innovative and creative.

Each day in the WatchMaestro office presents a new challenge. There is always someone who is looking to buy, sell or exchange a rare watch. As a team, we strive to match each watch with the right person, which is not always as easy as it sounds. However, by working together, we ensure that the deals are more than satisfactory each time.

What are the strategies of your company and how do they stand unique from your competitors?

We take deadlines really seriously. This is important in an industry as fast-paced and competitive as that of luxury watches. Our team is small but each member is fully aware of the importance of being time-efficient in getting things done. We are the only dealer of pre-owned luxury watches in Dubai that enables watch consignment.

What are the key values which helped you to overcome the roadblocks/challenges in your career? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?

The determination to meet targets, no matter what, is a core value at WatchMaestro. By staying true to this value, we have been able to win a lot of amazing deals throughout the years. 

For instance, a couple of years ago, a client reached out to us in the hopes of buying an extremely rare watch. He was hoping to gift it to his father, whose birthday was due in less than a month. Our team worked day and night to find and secure the best deal for that particular watch. The client was quite happy with our services, and it was a great learning experience for our team. 

How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

In the upcoming years, we hope to broaden our horizons and extend our services from the UAE to customers from other countries. The growth of WatchMaestro has been steady and we are confident about achieving this goal.

Where is your leadership going? What benefits are your clients getting from your company in this competitive world?

WatchMaestro is giving clients the gift of time. No longer does a watch collector have to spend resources unnecessarily on finding a specific model. Similarly, anyone can sell their luxury watches at the best price deals possible without spending a lot of time researching the market. We ensure that our clients get maximum value from their watch deals. In short, we make our clients’ lives easier. Customer satisfaction drives our business forward. 

What are the services/solutions or products offered by your company on par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services?

We offer a range of quality services to help our clients buy, sell and exchange watches, all in a single, easy-to-use platform. We like to display our latest collection on social media. Watches from top brands like Patek Philippe and Rolex grace WatchMaestro’s Instagram and Facebook feed, and our clients find them marvelous. Watch consignment is our forte, and we hope to develop our services in this area further in the near future. 

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