How a Grandfather's Omega Watch Spawned a €1.1M Pre-Owned Luxury Watch Business

How '15 čez' Went from a Drawer Find to €1.1M in Sales

Arne Međedović was a teenager when he opened his grandfather's drawer and found an Omega. That moment didn't just spark a passion for mechanical watchmaking — it set the foundation for a business that would sell around 250 pre-owned luxury watches each year. Today, his Slovenian company, 15 čez, generated €1.1 million in net sales revenue in its first full operating year, with a target to double that figure in 2026.

Međedović's path wasn't obvious. While classmates played video games, he scoured flea markets for vintage gold watches, then resold them on eBay and Chrono24, teaching himself the market from English-language forums and YouTube. A 2016 Instagram account under the name 'Watch Me Wear This' was his first foray into content, but with no capital, the project stalled until 2022, when a purchase changed everything. With his first proper paycheck, he bought a Tudor Prince Oysterdate for just over €1,000, wore it, photographed it, and later sold it for a €300 profit. The realisation that a business could be built from this simple flip was immediate.

Initially, Međedović planned to be a content creator for other watch dealers, offering his photography and video skills. When no one hired him, he pivoted to selling directly and enforced a simple rule: three social media posts per week, no excuses. The rhythm stuck and now brings in 90% of his customers through Instagram, while TikTok — surprisingly — delivers a higher share of buyers over 45. Supply comes from a network of large wholesalers who acquire excess inventory from big brands like Omega and Rolex. Those wholesalers sell to small dealers such as 15 čez, who then offer unused watches at up to 25% below official retail prices. About half the business is stock-on-hand; the rest is order-based, with buyers often requesting specific models.

The business is lean. Međedović works alone, supported by two partners with decades of experience abroad who share supplier channels. Fixed costs are minimal, yet margins are tight. “You win at the purchase,” he says. After servicing, polishing, and VAT on the margin, the company earned a profit of just under €40,000 on its €1.1 million revenue. A physical boutique in central Ljubljana is the next move — not just for walk-in sales but for higher security, professionalism, and the trust a storefront can bring.

Behind the Thin Margins and TikTok-Fuelled Demand in Luxury Watch Resale

How Omega and Rolex Overstock Reaches a Small Slovenian Dealer

The luxury watch supply chain is less glamorous than the showroom suggests. Major brands like Omega produce 300,000 to 400,000 units a year. Not all of them sell at recommended retail price. Official distributors must accept pre-determined quotas and then find ways to unload excess stock. This is where sizeable intermediary wholesalers step in, buying up large quantities at a discount and then passing smaller batches to niche dealers like 15 čez. Međedović’s network grants him access to brand-new, unworn watches that he can price 25% below official retail — a margin that exists only because he buys at the right point in that chain. The model is not unique, but it explains how a tiny Slovenian firm can compete on price in a global market.

Instagram Drives Reach, TikTok Converts Older Buyers

Social media is the company's sole customer-acquisition engine. Nine out of ten buyers find 15 čez through Instagram, but the emerging TikTok pipeline subverts demographic expectations. Videos on TikTok bring in a larger share of buyers aged over 45 than Instagram does. Međedović has learned that static photography alone rarely closes a sale; video content is the trigger. In his experience, an initial photo post on the website and social media may yield almost nothing, but once a video is published, purchase conversations begin. This insight has shaped his content strategy, balancing polished imagery with platform-native short-form video.

Why Margins Stay Thin Even on €40,000 Watches

Selling a Jaeger-LeCoultre for €40,000 sounds like a lucrative transaction, but the reality is compressed by several factors. The pre-owned luxury watch market is highly transparent — buyers routinely know the market price of a specific reference down to a few hundred euros, leaving minimal room for premium pricing. On top of the purchase cost, Međedović must account for servicing, polishing, and a VAT differential calculated on the margin between buy and sell. The resulting profit is modest: last year the company kept roughly 3.6 cents of every euro in revenue. The only way to make that sustainable is extreme operational leanness — no employees, no fixed overhead, and a founder still doing virtually everything himself.

The Slovenian Ceiling and the Boutique Bet

Slovenia's market is too small to specialise deeply. A dealer in Germany can survive selling only vintage Piaget models; 15 čez cannot afford that niche and instead stocks what sells locally: classic Omega, Rolex, and Breitling. The psychological price ceiling for a watch bought in Slovenia is around €15,000, according to Međedović, so the business must cater to that band while sourcing higher-value pieces for serious collectors. A physical boutique in central Ljubljana is designed to break through some of these limitations — by adding a secure environment for transactions, a visible inventory, and a level of credibility that can stretch the upper price tier for local customers.

Lessons for Scaling a High-Value, Low-Margin Resale Business

For entrepreneurs building a luxury resale business — or any high-value, low-margin commerce model — the 15 čez story surfaces several actionable principles:

• Video content opens deals that static images cannot. Međedović saw that after posting photos, almost nothing happened; only after publishing a video did real sales conversations begin. Short-form video, especially on TikTok, can reach older demographics that traditional marketing might miss.
• Tap the excess-inventory channel to build a price advantage. His ability to offer unworn watches at up to 25% below retail came from buying through wholesalers who offload producer surpluses. For any resale business, identifying the point in the supply chain where large players are motivated to reduce inventory can unlock competitive pricing.
• Enforce a 50% advance on custom orders. 15 čez never commits capital to a watch for a customer without a 50% advance payment, protecting cash flow and limiting risk on high-value, slow-turn items.
• Authenticity procedures double as a trust filter. By insisting on signed contracts, bank transfers, and a full identity check even when buying from private sellers, Međedović deters bad actors early. In a market where a single fake can destroy a reputation, the friction is not a barrier — it’s a brand protector.
• A physical location may unlock the next tier of trust and revenue. After reaching a €15,000 psychological price ceiling online, the planned boutique aims to elevate both perceived security and professionalism, a reminder that even a digital-first reseller may need bricks to climb higher.