Watchfinder Academy on Skool: Learn the Luxury Watch Business From a Yorkville Dealer

By Sharame Sean Sherzady · Founder, Watchfinder Canada · Yorkville, Toronto

People walk into my store on Cumberland Street every week and ask me the same thing: "Sean, how did you get into this business, and how do I start?" For years I answered one person at a time across the counter. Now I've put everything in one place. It's called Watchfinder Academy, it lives on Skool, and the Standard membership is free.

👉 Join Watchfinder Academy on Skool

Who I Am and Why I Built This

I've owned Watchfinder Canada in Yorkville since 1999. In that time we've sold or traded more than 20,000 watches, and today we handle 500 to 750 luxury watches a year. I've bought from collectors, dealers, estates and walk-ins. I've paid too much, I've been offered fakes, and I've learned from every mistake.

Most people trying to get into watches learn the hard way, by losing money on their first few deals. The Academy is there so you learn from my mistakes instead of making your own.

What Watchfinder Academy Is

Watchfinder Academy is an online community and training school for people who want to buy, inspect and sell luxury watches, and for anyone building a watch, jewellery or diamond business. It's built for:

• New watch dealers who want to start the right way
• Jewellers who want to add pre-owned watches to their store
• Luxury resellers already flipping watches on the side who want to do it properly
• Collectors who want to buy smarter and stop overpaying
• Anyone thinking about a diamond or jewellery business

What's Inside: 18 Courses

There are 18 courses, plus checklists, templates and weekly live calls. Here is what you'll learn.

1. Start From A to Z

How to Start From A to Z: Watch Dealer or Jeweller is the roadmap I wish I had in 1999. It has 16 phases, from picking your business name and making it legal to building your brand, launching your website, sourcing stock, selling safely and marketing yourself. It also includes an interactive 93-step checklist. If you're new, start here.

2. Buying and Inspecting Watches

• Mechanical Watches and Pre-Owned Buying covers the 50 checks I use before I buy any pre-owned watch: condition, timekeeping, authenticity warning signs, service costs, market value and what a safe buying price looks like. It includes 17 lessons and a 53-page PDF.
• Digital and Quartz Watch Diagnostics covers batteries, displays, moisture and when to repair or replace.
• Wall and Mantel Clock Diagnostics is for anyone who deals in estates. Clocks come with the territory.
• Bonus Library: The Dealer Toolkit has six short guides from my counter, including The Written Inspection, Counter Language and Prevent the Comeback.

3. Speak Watch Like a Dealer

Speak Watch: Dealer & Collector Chat Glossary. Full set, BNIB, Service 25, TV, OBO and so on. If you can't read a listing or follow a dealer WhatsApp group, you'll get left behind. This course fixes that in 10 lessons.

4. Finding Watches and Selling Them

• Private Seller Leads and Safe Buying shows you how to find watches, jewellery and diamonds from private sellers, qualify the enquiry, make a disciplined offer and avoid getting burned. It includes reply templates, AI prompts, a lead tracker and a 30-day plan.
• Selling and Shipping Watches Safely covers picking the right sales channel, working out your real net return, and shipping a $20,000 watch insured and discreet.
• Groups, Networking & Referrals teaches you to join the right WhatsApp and Facebook groups, do small, safe deals that build trust, and turn happy clients into referrals.
• IWJG Shows and Dealer Networking walks you through preparing for the dealer show circuit, meeting the right people and following up like a professional.

5. Building Your Brand and Website

• Own Your Brand Online gets you set up with your domain, matching handles on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, a professional email, and Buffer for posting everywhere at once.
• Luxury Retail Branding and Social Media is 18 lessons on building a luxury watch or jewellery brand, with filming exercises, caption templates and a 30-day content plan.
• Build Your Watch Business Website takes you through Shopify or Lovable and my VIP dealer template, listing watches correctly, taking secure payments and launching.

6. Diamonds, Jewellery and Winders

• Start Your Diamond and Jewellery Business covers trade verification, natural and lab-grown diamond sourcing, coloured stones, pricing and your first customer quote.
• Stuller Showcase: Build Your Jewellery Business shows you how to sell custom jewellery with Stuller settings and stones, set profitable markups and collect approved-quote payments.
• Become a Jeweller, Gemologist or Appraiser lists the real schools and certifications across North America: GIA, the Canadian Gemmological Association, George Brown and more.
• Start a Watch Winder Dropshipping Business explains how I run Watch Winders Canada (supplier introductions, fulfilment, realistic margins) so you can build your own.

Check My Watch: Real Tools for Your Business

Members also get access to Check My Watch tools for POS, inventory, consignments and appraisals, plus stolen-watch checks. These are the same kinds of systems a real store runs on.

Choose Your Level

Yes, all 18 courses are free. I'd rather you learn the right way and come back when you're ready for more. Premium and VIP are for people who want me working with them every week.

How You Benefit: The Short Version

• You stop losing money on bad buys. One fake or one overpriced watch costs more than years of membership.
• You learn from 27 years of real deals, not from YouTube theory.
• You get a step-by-step plan instead of guessing what to do next.
• You get connected. Dealers, jewellers and sourcing contacts are inside the community, and VIP members get my dealer network.
• You build a real business, legally set up, branded, online and taking payments, not just a side hustle.
• You can ask me directly on the live calls.

How to Get Started Today

1. Go to skool.com/watchfinderacademy and join for free.
2. Post in Introduce Yourself and tell us where you are and what you want to build.
3. Open "How to Start From A to Z" and work through the checklist.

Follow us too: Instagram @watchfinderacademy and YouTube @WatchfinderAcademy.

I've spent 27 years learning this business across the counter in Yorkville. Now you can learn it in weeks. See you inside.

— Sean

👉 Join Watchfinder Academy free on Skool

FAQ

Is Watchfinder Academy really free?
Yes. The Standard membership is free and includes all 18 courses and the community. Premium and VIP are paid upgrades for live calls, setup help and the dealer network.

Do I need experience?
No. Start with "How to Start From A to Z". It assumes you're starting from zero.

Is it only for Canadians?
No. Members join from anywhere. Some supplier lessons cover Canadian eligibility, and we point that out where it matters.

Who teaches it?
Sean Sherzady, owner of Watchfinder Canada in Yorkville, Toronto, since 1999.