Taking a proven auction model into a new world.
Following the success of Collecting Cars, its founders saw an opportunity to bring the same online auction model to another highly passionate collector market: watches.
I was approached in 2020 to help explore that opportunity and turn it into something tangible — from the identity and positioning through to the launch experience and digital product.
The foundation of the technology already existed, but Watch Collecting needed to become its own brand: credible within the world of horology, recognisable at a glance and capable of growing independently.
Familiar enough to inspire confidence. Distinct enough to stand alone.
The challenge was bigger than creating a logo or reskinning the Collecting Cars platform.
Watch Collecting needed to benefit from the credibility and proven thinking behind its sister company while developing an identity specifically for watch collectors. It had to communicate expertise, transparency and security without adopting the traditional language of an auction house.
At the same time, the product needed to make selling and purchasing valuable watches online feel remarkably straightforward.
Every part of the identity therefore had to work across a complete ecosystem — from a social media avatar or email signature to auction listings, mobile interfaces and a full desktop marketplace.
Build trust into every step of the experience.
Before defining screens, we mapped the journeys behind them.
The platform had multiple interconnected paths: discovering auctions, consigning a watch, registering, verification, bidding, winning or losing an auction, managing listings, arranging payment, escrow, delivery and account management.
Mapping the complete experience helped identify where information, reassurance and clear next steps were most important.
The brand followed the same principle. Early explorations centred on time, continuous availability and the idea of a 24/7 marketplace. Those ideas evolved into the circular clock device at the centre of the identity — a visual element that could operate as both a recognisable brand mark and a digital icon.
A brand built around time. A launch built around change.
The final identity combines the visual language of a watch dial with movement, time and continuous online availability.
A restrained palette of black, white and red gave the brand confidence and immediacy while allowing the watches themselves to remain the focus.
Ahead of the full platform launch, we introduced Watch Collecting through the “Time for Change” campaign. The holding experience began establishing the brand, collecting registrations and encouraging consignments while the auction product was being completed.
The identity was then extended across the website, responsive interfaces, social channels, email communications and wider digital touchpoints, creating one coherent system from launch onwards.
One platform. Two high-consideration journeys.
The digital product had to work equally well for two very different intentions: someone looking for their next watch and someone considering selling a valuable asset.
Working from the user journeys into wireframes and first-stage logic allowed the interface to prioritise each task before visual styling was introduced.
Live auctions, Buy Now listings and upcoming watches were organised into clear pathways, supported by search, filters, account tools and prominent selling actions.
Trust signals were deliberately integrated into the experience rather than treated as secondary information. Identity verification, secure transactions and specialist support all helped reinforce confidence at the points where users were being asked to make significant financial decisions.
The result was a responsive experience that adapted the successful mechanics behind Collecting Cars to the specific behaviours and expectations of watch collectors.
From a new idea to a serious global collecting platform.
Watch Collecting launched in March 2021 and quickly demonstrated that the Collecting Cars model could successfully translate into the watch market.
Within its first six months, the platform had sold more than 400 watches with a combined value exceeding £6.5 million. Within roughly its first year, sales had reached around £10 million.
The business continued to scale internationally, ultimately growing far beyond the original launch proposition.
In August 2026, Watch Collecting became Collecting.com. By that point, the platform reported a community of more than 400,000 members and over £110 million in sales.
The commercial growth belongs to the wider team and business, but the work shown here established the original Watch Collecting identity, launch language and user experience that accompanied the platform from idea to market.
