Meet the founder and CEO of Jay-Z-backed Wristcheck, Austen Chu: he first heard of Audemars Piguet watches in Jay-Z’s songs – now the rapper is an investor, and even invited Chu to the Roc Nation offices
Comedian Kevin Hart also used the marketplace to find the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Grande Sonnerie he recently wore on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Hong Kong-born and raised in Shanghai, watch buff Austen Chu has experienced it all when it comes to the many perils of buying luxury timepieces.
“[Before Instagram] I got treated like absolute dogs*** by watch brands, authorised dealers and also dealers in Tsim Sha Tsui,” he recounts, “because when I first came to Hong Kong, I was young. I was like 18, 19. I didn’t have that much money.”
Buying watches online was hardly better – sellers once told him that a dial, secured inside a metal watch case, had been dented during shipping. Aftermarket vintage bracelets vanished into thin air.
This contrasts utterly with Chu’s experience as an influencer – he’s on Instagram as @horoloupe – and as the co-founder of Wristcheck, the watch marketplace he created in 2020 with Sean Wong.
Instagram helped Chu express a passion and appreciation for watches that put him on notice with the world of high horology. “I’ve had the privilege to have been in a lot of great settings like luxury boutiques and experiences because of Horoloupe,” says Chu. “The difference was heaven and hell, night and day.”
Those experiences came to a head with a collaboration with Audemars Piguet on the Royal Oak China Edition Perpetual Calendar. Launched in January 2020, it was limited to 88 pieces and only to China. “I’m forever grateful to Audemars Piguet for giving me that opportunity,” Chu says. “Once I did that China edition, it solidified my place in the industry. It was surreal. I had Royal Oak posters in my bedroom when I was, like, 15 and I discovered that brand without even knowing anything, from Jay-Z – from listening to his music.”
Both sides of the coin inform the experience Chu creates at Wristcheck. From Hong Kong to New York, in most secondary market spaces, “There’s nowhere to sit down,” complains Chu. “They don’t offer you coffee or water. There’s no experience. At the end of the day, experience is what drives memories, stories and spending.
