Meet Robertino Altieri | Chief Operating Officer at WatchGuys

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robertino Altieri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robertino, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
My family upbringing has always been something I’ve considered unique when looking at my fellow peers and friends growing up. From a very early age, I saw my Dad run several businesses and manage many employees. If I wasn’t at baseball practice, or hanging out with my younger brother and Mom, I would often take a ride with my Dad to his stores, watch him manage his employees and listen to him speak to customers and people on the phone. Even if I didn’t know what exactly was going on as a younger child, I know it was these times that deeply engrained my character and natural entrepreneurial spirit. I am considered by many an extremely hard-working individual who values both his family and his word equally. As a young entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA I have started several of my own business ventures. At 28 years old, I can proudly say that I have owned 4 businesses so far in my life. It has never been a competition per se to try and open/run as many businesses as possible, but I do know that I have never been afraid to try something new (and take a risk). I believe I get this trait from my Father, Uncle’s and even Grandparents as I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs on both my Mom and Dad’s side. It is these individuals who have all shown me what it takes, each with their own perspectives and tactics that I have picked up on from each of them. I cherish my family very dearly and would say that I am a proud family man. On my most recent and most successful venture, WatchGuys, I have finally teamed up with my Father for good, getting the pleasure of operating a business alongside the very person that taught me the ropes.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

At a very early stage in my career, in fact, before I ever started my own business I asked my mentor at the time, “what should I specialize in”? The answer I received was the very thing that I became an expert at from that very moment. SEO marketing (Search Engine Optimization) is something that I gained an expertise in and had the privilege of learning alongside one of the very best SEO experts in the world starting at the age of 15. When you have the opportunity to learn from someone with this expertise and status, it is a privilege and blessing that should never be taken for granted. So, SEO marketing became my passion. I learned how to rank businesses of my own, businesses of friends, and high paying clients on the first page of Google – and often, in the very first position of Google. It is this very passion for marketing that drives me when running my own business and actually, it wasn’t until I came on board full-time at WatchGuys working alongside my father that I considered diversifying my expertise. While still maintaining my passion and working in the realm of marketing, I found a new passion for marketing with Social Media marketing.

In fact, Social Media was the very ticket to the early success of our company WatchGuys (www.watchguys.com). After coming on board, I did what I could to bolster our rankings and assist with the online presence of our business. But real progress, especially with Organic SEO, can take over 2+ years. Though I occasionally posted on Social Media, a particular trend in our posts genuinely boosted our business. I noticed that, in an era where in-person “real experiences” are decreasing, Social Media was evolving towards an “experience/interaction” style. It seemed people relished watching experiences online. Recognizing this, I began recording customer interactions, using an iPad set on the store counter. I believed that if viewers observed our customer service and business operations, they might feel more inclined to engage with us. This insight played a crucial role in our early success. I realized that today’s consumers seek businesses with a “face” they can trust. It appears the world is shifting from ‘faceless’ corporations towards entities that offer genuine online interaction.

For these reasons, we have prided our company on these values and tactics. We have dedicated both our social media and website as a resource that our consumers can learn from. In just 10 short months, we have gained over 50,000 followers and have shown our followers that our business is one they can trust. Transparency is increasingly important in the secondary market of jewelry and watches as the industry itself does not have a widely adopted level of trust. We believe with our efforts on Social Media, we can continue to grow our business and show our level of commitment to service and the authenticity of our products.

After specializing in the jewelry and watch business over 40 years, my Dad founded WatchGuys as a pre-owned marketplace that consumers can trust. Our company specializes in pre-owned Luxury Watches (Rolex, OMEGA, Cartier Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe), Designer Jewelry (Van Cleef and Arpels, Tiffany & Co, Harry Winston, Chanel, Cartier and more), Estate Jewelry, and GIA Diamonds. We are centrally located in the heart of Los Angeles’s Jewelry District at 613 S Hill. We are a family run company that is dedicated to transparency, customer service and great prices. We truly believe that offering great prices to our customers is something that additionally sets us apart – which our low overhead and family run operation allows for.

Outside of our daily business operation, we have several projects that we are passionate about. First and foremost, our website. We take great pride in offering a modern and easy to navigate website that includes all of our updated inventory of jewelry and watches. Compared to many of our local competitors in Los Angeles, we have quite a vast array of in-stock inventory offered at exceptional prices.

Secondly, we have just launched our very own “WatchGuys Market Report”. This tool allows live secondary market price tracking on Rolex models (currently) and will soon be a tool that tracks the prices of all luxury watch models.  Check out the Rolex Market Report. We believe that prices are at the center of our customer’s attention and creating a tool that tracks a watch models exact price year over year (up to 5 yrs) with average prices and market volatility data, would assist our customer in making an informed purchase. Take a look at the Market Report page that tracks the prices of a Rolex Submariner 126610LV “Starbucks”. Here you can interactively track this particular watch models prices, volatility and find a product that can be purchased at the most competitive price on the market.

Lastly, we are very excited to announce our very own “super-reality” show on YouTube called, “WatchGuys Daily”. WatchGuys Daily is a high-octane YouTube series that offers an insider’s look into the world of luxury watch and jewelry trading. Hosted by Robertino, AKA “Mr. WatchGuys”, the show unfolds in the glitzy backdrop of Los Angeles, where WatchGuys operates as a leading global reseller of new and pre-owned luxury watches like Rolex, APs, Patek Philippe’s, and Cartier, as well as Designer Jewelry. Season 1 focuses on boasting interactions from everyday and high-stakes watch deals to star-studded watch spotting at the ESPYS 2023 (with stars like Justin Jefferson, Jamal Murray and Quavo). The series is a dynamic blend of real-time customer negotiations, dealer trades, celebrity encounters, and global expeditions for watch acquisitions. Above all, it encapsulates the hustle, savvy, and entrepreneurial spirit that Robertino brings to the rapidly evolving watch industry. This show has been very entertaining for our viewers as it shows what we buy and sell on a Daily basis here at WatchGuys. As we quickly learned that our viewers were yearning for more “interaction” type content on Social Media, we took it upon ourselves to produce our very own YouTube show that shows our very best interactions. Viewers can expect to see some of our best content on the show and a chance to look at what goes on behind the scenes of our operation. You can view the show here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBKvzkPcKTd0P7pUhM81iLubyk2x45QqT

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here are a few of my favorite things to do in LA – the city I call home! First on the list is the Los Angeles Lakers! We would have to go to a game to see Lebron and the Lakers take on whoever is in town for the weekend. Besides going to the infamous Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena), I would invite my friend to come out with me for a weekend with friends where we often visit Marina Del Rey to visit a friends boat, visit Malibu to hang at the beach and catch some surf, and in between, visit Hillstone or R+D for American (Santa Monica) – Dan Tana’s, (Beverly Hills), Ospi (Venice), Spumoni (Santa Monica) if we wanted Italian, or Prima Cocina (Santa Monica) if we wanted Mexican.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Mom! My Mom is and always has been my biggest supporter. Starting your own business is not always the “popular” thing to do. Though today entrepreneurship seems to have gained more of “cool” factor, it wasn’t always like this. Actually, I have found that starting your own business in some cases is something that is not initially accepted by friends in the early stages of several of my ventures. Friends are always great support and encouragement when you are in the same lane with the same goals. I have found from personal experience that when you do venture off and go to start something on your own, a lot of doubt initially comes with it. Though this is not the case with all friends, as an entrepreneur, performer or athlete, doubt from outsiders is something that should be accepted as something that comes along with the territory. It has been my Mom through the thick and the thin that has provided me with the necessary encouragement and confidence to continue my path. Anytime I need a second opinion, my mother is always my first call and I don’t think I would be here without her!

Website: https://www.watchguys.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watchguys_/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/watchguys/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/WatchGuys/100091254409871/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/watchguys-buy-and-sell-rolex-los-angeles-2

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@watchguys_

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@watchguys_

Image Credits
WatchGuys owns the rights to all images.