Recently, luxury goods are being recognized as tangible assets beyond mere luxury items. Continuous price increases and limited supply stimulate consumer desire for ownership, and this can be seen in the preservation or even increase in value in the second-hand market.


The watch trading platform 'VIVER' is a subsidiary of Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, and is a startup specializing in luxury watches among tangible assets. VIVER was established to solve the chronic trust issues in watch trading. It appraises all watches traded on the platform, guarantees authenticity, and provides safety measures for both sellers and buyers. VIVER's core competitiveness lies in its direct operation of the entire watch trading process with its personnel and systems, focusing on ▲ 'VIVER Labs' for precise appraisal ▲ 'Showroom' as a customer contact space ▲ technology-based app services.

The core functions of VIVER are carried out at VIVER Labs. The diagnostics team diagnoses the condition and checks the functionality of watches to distinguish genuine from counterfeit, while the engineering team repairs and restores watches to make them marketable in optimal condition. VIVER has enhanced its competitiveness by adding technological capabilities. Notably, the 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lens' automatically recognizes watch models and provides information, and the real-time price index function helps improve the accuracy and efficiency of transactions. Furthermore, VIVER is pursuing the establishment of an ownership history recording system using Dunamu's blockchain technology to systematize watches as assets beyond a trading platform.

Precise Watch Appraisal and Restoration…Securing Customer Trust with Watch Engineers

Park Jong-ho, Head of Engineering at VIVER Labs, is a veteran with 15 years of experience at Rolex. He joined VIVER from its inception and currently oversees appraisal, diagnosis, and restoration tasks with 15 watch experts. VIVER's watch engineers are professionals with at least 10 years of experience in watch brands, sharing technical know-how by brand and equipped to handle any watch brand.

At VIVER, watch diagnostics are conducted using high-magnification microscopes and precise measuring equipment, with all processes recorded in real-time. Customers can visit the showroom to directly observe how their watches are inspected, and receive an appraisal report detailing authenticity, condition, and functionality. Unlike most appraisal companies that focus on new or certified watches, VIVER allows used watches with signs of wear to be appraised and restored for trading.

Park Jong-ho emphasized, “Used watches vary greatly in condition, and parts are often mixed. It is challenging for individuals to safely purchase watches due to counterfeit watches that are difficult to distinguish with a 0.1mm difference,” adding, “VIVER thoroughly inspects not only the exterior but also internal parts to appraise authenticity and restore watches so buyers receive them in new condition.”


In fact, VIVER claims there has not been a single case of misappraisal since the platform's launch. VIVER differentiates itself with a customer trust maintenance policy that offers 300% compensation of the purchase price if a customer incurs a financial loss due to incorrect appraisal from the service's inception. Park Jong-ho stressed, “Understanding the characteristics of each watch brand and the structure of over 200 parts is crucial for restoration work that maintains and enhances the value of watches. This is essential to increase customer trust in watch trading.”

VIVER Solves Opaque Watch Trading Structure Issues

VIVER's system addresses the structural problems of the previously opaque second-hand watch trading. Park Jong-ho explained, “In the past, there was significant information asymmetry between parties trading watches. VIVER connects sellers and buyers directly while transparently supporting transaction-related information and reliable services. VIVER's role is to help customers trade their assets at fair value.”

At VIVER, sellers can set prices directly, and buyers can easily access all information, including transparent appraisal and diagnosis results. Currently, VIVER's transaction fee is capped at KRW 600,000, the lowest in the industry. VIVER stated, “A transparent watch trading culture has not yet been established in Korea. VIVER set low fees to lower market entry barriers and introduce the service to many customers. However, some adjustments may be made in the long term.”

‘AI Lens’ Provides Information by Taking a Picture of a Watch


VIVER is securing customer reliability by adding precision with the latest technology. A representative service is the 'AI Lens.' Launched in May this year, this service allows users to upload a watch photo to the app, and AI automatically recognizes similar models to provide information on market price, product details, and purchase availability. Even without knowing complex model names or specifications, users can check the market price and stock with just one photo.

The AI Lens is characterized by its specialization in watches, unlike other companies' general AI services. Lee Won-se, Head of Development, explained, “Due to the nature of watches, even the same model can have hundreds of derivative models with different dial colors and part sizes, so precise tuning of AI is essential to distinguish subtle differences,” adding, “VIVER has increased AI accuracy through detailed labeling work based on high-quality watch data collected over three years.”


He continued, “AI Lens resolves information asymmetry, allowing customers with limited knowledge of watches to easily compare and select various models. Along with this, VIVER plans to enhance both accessibility and accuracy of watch trading by adding an AI agent function incorporating a large language model (LLM) by the end of August.”

Systematizing Watches as Tangible Assets…Linked with Blockchain

Founded in 2021, VIVER achieved a monthly transaction volume of KRW 15 billion as of July. The cumulative number of reservation visitors to the offline showroom has also exceeded 40,000. Currently, VIVER operates 19 brands, including Rolex, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Omega, Bulgari, Hermes, Chanel, and Tudor, and is preparing to diversify its lineup with high-liquidity new brands based on customer votes. A second VIVER showroom is also planned to open within the year.

VIVER is focusing on system enhancement to expand its overseas customer base this year. Lee Won-se, Head of Development, stated, “Currently, we are in the initial stage of service operation focused on overseas purchase customers, but customer inflow from Japan, Hong Kong, and North America is steadily increasing,” adding, “We are preparing a groundbreaking project ahead of full-scale global market expansion.”


In the future, VIVER plans to combine Dunamu's blockchain technology with VIVER's tangible asset management capabilities. A system is being developed to record and track watch appraisals and transaction histories in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). VIVER added, “Since watches, unlike cars, do not have a unique identification system, a history-based authentication system will be a key technology to enhance industry credibility.”

Park Jong-ho, Head of Engineering, stated, “It is challenging to distinguish counterfeit watches, and consumers face difficulties purchasing genuine watches safely due to warranty forgery, guarantee card forgery, and face-to-face transaction threats. VIVER will grow into a platform that provides trust to customers based on expertise and technology.”

IT Donga Reporter Kim Ye-ji (yj@itdonga.com)

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