Gentleman's Grade, a local startup watch leasing company, offers its members access to luxury watches from Swiss brands such as Panerai, IWC, Rolex and more.
In the age of smart phones and smart watches, one Reno startup has found their niche in the luxury watch market.
Gentleman’s Grade is a subscription-based, high-end luxury watch leasing company that provides its members with access to their multimillion-dollar Swiss made watch collection.
“We want to preserve the lifestyle and class of watches that previous generations valued and share this lifestyle with the next generation,” Kevin Cornell, CEO of Gentleman’s Grade, said.
The Web-based membership service targets high-level executives and luxury watch enthusiasts. Members pay $115 a month plus the cost of a watch with range between $30 and $255 per month. Members lease the watch for two months and then mail it back and receive a new watch.
While luxury watches may not be for everyone, the startup is seeing interest in their business model.
Gentleman’s Grade already has subscribers across the country including Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Manhattan and Seattle who have signed up for the company’s beta launch.
“What we are trying to do is create a community of business professionals and watch enthusiasts,” Cornell said.
Gentleman’s Grade leases watch brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Hublot, Omega, Jaquet Droz and more, which typically sell at retail anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000 dollars.
“(Normally,) if you lease to own a watch, say a Rolex, you have to put 10 to 15 percent down and then make monthly payments between $500 to $600 and the watches value depreciates significantly” after the purchase, Cornell said. Gentleman’s Grade is able to lease watches for a fraction of the retail cost because they are given many of the watches directly from the companies that make them. In return Gentleman’s Grade provides feedback from their subscribers on the watches.
The membership allows individuals the opportunity to experience a wide range of luxury watches.
“There are people who are diehard Rolex and Omega fans,” Cornell said. “(Our membership) gets everyone to try a little bit of everything.”
Watches can be customized to specific color schemes and are adjusted to the wrist size of the member before it is shipped.
“Watches are an extension of your own personality… an extension of your creativity,” Cornell said.
According to Cornell, the Gentleman’s Grade membership is not limited to men as many of the watches are designed to be unisex. They also have a point system that allows members to get discounts on future watch leases.
“People are surprised actually,” Cornell said when asked about the response to their company. “Many collectors tell us that they wish this would have been around sooner.”
The company is also planning on creating networking events in cities with large numbers of subscribers for members to meet with other watch enthusiasts and high-level executives.
Cornell and the company’s CFO, Jacob Barnes started the company in 2015. Cornell and Barnes joined The CUBE at Midtown to help get their business started and take advantage of their resources.
According to Cornell, the strong startup community in northern Nevada has helped them launch their business.
“I have done other projects and things in the past like being a director of business development and a marketing director,” Cornell said. “I never considered myself an entrepreneur… but I wanted to start a company that I was passionate about.”
Gentleman’s Grade is currently enrolling members for their beta subscription. They are anticipating that they will be ready to start leasing watches in spring 2016. For information, go to www.gentlemansgrade.com/.
