Crownwheel
A Kuala Lumpur dealer of pre-owned and new watches with its own workshop: every watch carries its authentication and timing report, with card instalments, trade-ins and consignment, private viewings and an owner portal, and the sales, payments, workshop and manager desk behind them.
The brief
Watch dealers describe condition in prose and none publishes the timing readings that prove a watch. Malaysian buyers pay by card instalments, yet dealer sites show no monthly figure with its terms. And a licensed second-hand dealer must keep books of what it buys and sells and stop trading at 7 pm, which no site shows how it does.
What we shipped
A dealer website where every watch has a page built around evidence: studio photos, the movement, a condition map, six-position timing and the water-resistance test, with a printable authentication report; stock with the filters watch buyers use; card instalments by bank and term; sell, trade in or consign with an indicative range and a declaration signed on screen; private viewings by boutique and time; reservations with a refundable deposit; and an owner portal for approvals, warranty and valuation reminders. Behind it: one inbox for every channel, a buying desk, a payments desk with the bank’s decisions, deal sheets with their checks, the dealer’s books, a workshop bench board run by capacity and a manager dashboard.
Built for: Watch, jewellery and luxury dealers, resellers of pre-owned goods that need proof of authenticity, and any shop that sells, buys back and services what it sells.
Inside the build
Every part, and what it does
A closer look at what was actually built — screen by screen, so you can judge the depth for yourself.
A boutique website where every section works
A full-bleed boutique hero with a stock search and a linked facts strip, then new arrivals, the bench checks with a real reading, a selling range, an instalment matrix and both boutiques with their hours.
- Search by maker and budget
- Facts that link to the detail
- Two boutiques and the 7 pm limit
Stock with the filters watch buyers use
New, pre-owned and consigned watches filtered by maker, budget in total or by the month, style, condition grade, box and papers, size, material, movement and boutique, with live counts.
- Live counts on every filter
- Grade, box and papers on every tile
- Saved searches with alerts
A watch page built around evidence
The studio photo, the movement, a drawn condition map and the timing chart beside a price panel with the maker’s list price, a card-instalment estimate by bank and term, and reserve, viewing and trade-in actions.
- Box, papers and a five-step grade
- Reserve with a refundable deposit
- Sale terms in English and Bahasa Melayu
Authentication and condition report
A printable bench certificate for every watch: serial, movement and original parts checked, the police-list check, every mark listed and mapped, timing in six positions and the water-resistance test.
- Numbered workshop seal
- Every mark listed before the sale
- Prints or saves as a PDF
Card instalments by bank and term
Pick a watch, a bank and a term to see the monthly figure, interest, total and effective rate with Bank Negara’s disclosures, then compare every bank and term in one matrix. Every figure is an estimate.
- Flags the minimum and a short card limit
- Says the bank decides
- Sends the plan to a specialist
Sell, trade in or consign
Four questions and four photos give an indicative range that moves as you answer, with selling, trading in and consigning priced side by side; the offer is accepted by signing the seller’s declaration on screen.
- Three routes priced side by side
- An inspection booked at either boutique
- A declaration signed on screen
Private viewings by boutique and time
Choose up to three watches, a boutique, a day and a free time; the booking goes to a specialist free then, and the last start leaves time to finish before 7 pm. Confirmations are simulated: nothing is sent.
- Times from free specialists
- Watches brought over from the other boutique
- WhatsApp confirmation and reminder
My collection
Owners approve or decline extra work found on the bench, follow their watch through the workshop, and see warranty, next service and valuation for each watch, with every message Crownwheel has sent.
- Nothing extra starts without approval
- Warranty, service and valuation dates
- Offers to sign and documents to send
One inbox for every channel
Website, WhatsApp, Instagram, marketplace, walk-in, referral and phone enquiries by boutique, each given to the least busy specialist, with the watch and links to its viewing, offer, deal or plan.
- First replies over an hour flagged
- Quick replies, status and reassignment
- Valuation certificates from the enquiry
Payments desk for card plans
Each reservation’s card instalment plan is completed with the buyer, sent to the bank and moved by its decision: approve, ask for a document or decline. Bank decisions are simulated.
- The limit shortfall and documents needed
- Document requests reach My collection
- Due diligence for large cash payments
Workshop bench board
Every watch from drop-off to collection by status, each watchmaker’s bench hours against capacity, and the hours booked for the coming days; a watch leaves the bench only when its readings pass.
- Waiting for the owner or parts
- Readings and the water test enforced
- The ready message with service tax
Manager dashboard
Both boutiques over 30 days: enquiry to sale, enquiries by source and boutique, viewing-to-sale by specialist, stock age, consigned watches and bench load. Sample data.
- 96 enquiries, 29 viewings, 9 sales
- Both boutiques compared
- Charts with a table view
Click through it yourself
Every screen above is interactive. No sign-up, nothing to install.
Behind the build
Researched first, then built
Before designing anything, we studied 15 watch dealers, marketplaces and dealer tools in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK, the US and Germany. Two blocked automated browsers, so we read their archived pages instead. Nothing was copied. Each finding below changed a decision.
Studied (15)
- Swiss Watch
- The Hour Glass
- Cortina Watch
- Sincere Fine Watches
- Watch Exchange
- Watchbook
- Times Avenue
- Watchfinder & Co.
- Bob’s Watches
- The 1916 Company
- Wristcheck
- Chrono24
- WatchCharts
- Elefta
- RepairDesk
What we saw
What Crownwheel does
What we saw
Watchfinder puts box, papers, year and a named grade beside the price; most dealers describe condition in prose.
What Crownwheel does
A five-step grade on every watch and a drawn condition map where each mark is a numbered point with its note.
What we saw
Dealers describe their timing and pressure tests, but nobody publishes the readings.
What Crownwheel does
Six-position timing, amplitude, beat error, power reserve and the pressure-test result on every watch, in a printable report.
What we saw
Watchfinder shows a monthly figure under the price; Malaysian buyers pay by card instalments.
What Crownwheel does
A card-instalment estimate by bank and term with Bank Negara’s disclosures, and a payments desk with the bank’s decision.
What we saw
Several dealers compare selling with consigning.
What Crownwheel does
One selling flow with three routes, an indicative range with its factors, an inspection, an offer and a declaration signed on screen.
What we saw
Dealers state their licence, but none shows what it requires.
What Crownwheel does
The 7 pm trading limit enforced on viewings, inspections, intake and handovers, and the dealer’s books kept for every watch bought and sold.
What we saw
Owners are asked to sign a service quote, or approve by a link in an SMS.
What Crownwheel does
A bench board by status and watchmaker capacity, with extra work waiting for the owner’s approval in My collection.
What we saw
Marketplaces and price trackers tell owners what their watches are worth.
What Crownwheel does
My collection with insurance valuation certificates and renewal reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days.
Feature checklist
47 of the 56 features the leading sites offer
We listed every feature we found in the research above. Crownwheel has 47 of them, and 6 more in part; the 3 left out are listed with the reason.
Finding a watch10
- Search by maker, model or reference
- Filter by maker
- Condition grade filter
- Box and papers filter
- Size, material and movement
- Price in total or by the month
- New, pre-owned and consigned
- Sort
- Saved watches
- Saved-search alerts
The watch page14
- Photos of the watch, movement and condition
- Box, papers and year at a glance
- Grade with a guide
- Every defect listed
- Specification table
- Authenticity guarantee
- Timing and water-resistance results
- Dealer warranty
- Maker’s list price
- Monthly figure under the price
- Instalment calculator
- Private viewing booking
- Enquiry and WhatsApp per watch
- Wrist-fit guide
Selling10
- Online valuation request
- Instant indicative range
- Sell, trade in and consign compared
- Trade-in credited to the deal
- Photo guidance
- Face-to-face inspection
- Published consignment terms
- Seller’s declaration signed on screen
- Licensed-dealer statement
- Sourcing requests
Servicing5
- Service prices with tax
- Online drop-off booking
- Owner approves extra work
- Repair status
- Water-resistance testing
Owners3
- Collection with values
- Insurance valuation certificates
- Warranty, service and valuation reminders
Places and payments2
- Boutique finder with hours
- Local payment methods
Behind the counter3
- Leads from every channel in one inbox
- E-invoice step on the deal sheet
- Manager analytics
Built in part
- Online purchase: reserved online and completed at the boutique, because the sale needs the buyer’s identity document within trading hours.
- Live chat: WhatsApp replies instead.
- Editorial: maker stories only.
- Returns: a refundable five-day hold instead.
- Polishing: recorded as extra work for the owner to approve.
- Marketplace listing sync: marketplace enquiries arrive in the inbox, without listing sync.
Left out, and why
- Reviews: none could be honest in a concept.
- A live “people viewing” counter: it is pressure, not information.
- Escrow: the dealer is the seller, and the refundable deposit does the job.
Design research
How the leading sites look, and what we took
We measured the fonts, colours and layouts of the dealers we studied, then applied what most of them share in an original design, on the website and the desk.
Across the leading sites
In Crownwheel
Across the leading sites
A serif at regular weight for headings over a light sans.
In Crownwheel
Gloock, a sturdy high-contrast serif, over Albert Sans with aligned figures for prices and readings.
Across the leading sites
White pages, near-black text, black buttons and one muted accent.
In Crownwheel
White and rhodium grey, anthracite text and buttons, and a single ruby accent, the colour of a movement’s jewels; no gold.
Across the leading sites
The actual watch on a pale ground, from many angles.
In Crownwheel
Every watch photographed front-on on the same studio grey, with the movement, a condition map and the timing chart.
Across the leading sites
Price, box and papers, year and a grade side by side.
In Crownwheel
One price block per watch: cash price, the monthly figure at 0%, a five-step grade, box and papers ticks and the maker’s list price.
Across the leading sites
Boutique, guarantee, warranty and licence near the decision.
In Crownwheel
Boutique and reserved status on every tile, the report one click away, a 24-month warranty and the licence where viewings are booked.
Rules it follows
The business rules, built in
The prototype enforces each of these, so you can test them yourself.
Licensed dealer
- No buying, selling or handing over between 7 pm and 7 am
- Every watch bought and sold entered in the dealer’s books with the other party’s particulars
- Every watch offered to us checked against police lists before an offer
Cash, cards and deposits
- Cash of RM 50,000 or more for a gold or platinum watch needs customer due diligence
- Card-instalment estimates say the bank decides; no card surcharge
- Deposits refunded only to the method used to pay
Honest descriptions
- Every mark listed in writing before the sale
- Readings published as measured; the maker’s list price only for models still made
Tax and e-invoices
- Prices include all taxes; servicing shows 8% service tax separately
- Sales above RM 10,000 get their own e-invoice; watches bought from private sellers get a self-billed one
Workshop and personal data
- No work beyond the fixed-price service without the owner’s approval
- A watch leaves the bench only within tolerance and after passing the water test
- Identity numbers masked on screen; marketing only with a separate opt-in
Connected roles
One action, every screen
Every role works on the same records, so one person’s action shows up for the others.
- 1
A buyer books a private viewing; the specialist free at that boutique sees it on the timetable and in the inbox, and the buyer gets a WhatsApp confirmation and a reminder.
- 2
The buyer asks to trade in a watch; the buying desk sees the request with its range, and once the inspection passes, the specialist’s offer appears in My collection to sign.
- 3
The buyer reserves a watch; the stock list and the watch page show it as Reserved, and a new deal with a card-plan application opens on the payments desk. A cancellation releases it and refunds the deposit.
- 4
The specialist sends the card plan to the bank; the bank’s decision moves the deal on or asks the buyer for a payslip, which the buyer uploads in My collection.
- 5
The buying desk completes the trade-in intake; the watch goes on sale with an entry in the book of goods bought, and its credit comes off the buyer’s deal.
- 6
The specialist hands the watch over once every check is done; the buyer sees it in My collection with its warranty, first service date and reminders.
- 7
The workshop sends extra work for approval; the owner approves or declines it in My collection, and when the readings pass the owner gets the ready message.
Services it proves
Where Crownwheel is our example
Each of these service pages uses a part of Crownwheel to show the work. Open one to see what we would build for you.
- Web appsShows: One inbox for every channelA watch dealer’s desk in the browser: every channel’s enquiries in one inbox, linked to the viewing, offer, deal and card plan, on the same record as the website.
- WhatsApp automationShows: Private viewings by boutique and timeViewing confirmations and reminders by WhatsApp, offers and document requests sent to the buyer, and a ready message when the workshop finishes.
- Retail & ecommerceShows: Authentication and condition reportA watch dealer: stock with authentication reports, card instalments, trade-ins and consignment, and a workshop that services what it sells.
Core systems
What this build is made of
These are systems we build repeatedly — each links to every other project that contains it, so you can compare implementations before deciding what you need.
Industry: Retail & ecommerce
Unique to this build
Built specifically for this project rather than assembled from the shelf.
Authentication and timing report
Serial, movement and original parts checked, every mark mapped, six-position timing, amplitude, beat error and the water-resistance test on a printable certificate for every watch.
The dealer’s books and the 7 pm limit
Every watch bought and sold is entered with the seller’s or buyer’s particulars, and viewings, intake and handovers are refused between 7 pm and 7 am, as the Second-Hand Dealers Act requires.
Card instalments with the disclosures
A monthly figure by bank and term that says the bank decides, that it joins the card’s minimum payment and that the whole amount is held against the limit.
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