About One Street

Why we started

Because buying a serious watch had become an exercise in being managed. Waiting lists you could not see the end of, prices that moved depending on who was asking, and a lot of people selling watches they had never physically held.

We wanted the opposite of that. Own the stock. Open it up. Say what it costs and why. If a watch has been polished, say so. If the papers are gone, say so. If a client would be better off buying elsewhere, say that too.

What that looks like in practice

Every watch on this site is physically in our possession in Dubai. Every one has passed 41 checks at our own bench, and the sheet is filed against its serial. Every price is set against live transaction data, and we will show you the comparables if you ask.

It is not a complicated idea. It is just unusual enough in this trade to be worth building a business on.

The boutique

Vida Hotel, Emirates Hills — travertine, oak, and a case you are welcome to sit in front of for as long as you like.

We built a room rather than a shop. There is coffee, there are chairs, and there is no expectation that you buy anything. Plenty of our best clients came in for a look and bought something eighteen months later.

Getting it to you

Within the hour in Dubai and next day across the Emirates, insured either way. Two to five working days worldwide, with any duties quoted before dispatch — so most clients have the watch in their hands without a three-week wait. Part-exchange works the same way, in either direction.

The bench

Two Swiss-trained watchmakers, in-house. Nothing is sent away without telling you, and nothing is listed before it has been opened, timed and pressure-tested.