In late 2023, NBC penned an article titled ‘How TikTok took over NY’s Diamond District’, chronicling the uprising of a new generation of luxury watch resellers.
We’re talking kids younger than me, flipping watches worth more than my college degree in the streets of New York.
Rolex, Patek, Cartier, you name it. It’s an old money game, being dominated by young money players.
And one of the most prolific names in the game? Vookum, a.k.a Tyler Mikorski.

At 24 years old, he’s made over a million flipping watches. And with 2.2M TikTok followers eager to peep every sales interaction (read: battle), the dude’s becoming a household name.

So, what’s his deal? How do you even get the capital to flip a rollie? No shame, we’re nosy AF – so we pinned the man down to find out.
Key takeaways:
- Tyler started selling watches on the streets of New York City at age 19, learning the business from his friend's dad.
- He quickly found success, making over $10,000 per month within his first year of watch trading. Cha-ching.
- Tyler now teaches other aspiring watch resellers through his Whop community Vookum Verified.
A brief rundown of NY’s Diamond District
I mentioned above that Tyler is a big player in NYC’s ‘Diamond District’ – which, if you’ve seen the Safdie Brothers masterpiece Uncut Gems, you’ll know all about.
But in case you aren’t familiar with it, the Diamond District is essentially a city hub where the cutting, polishing, and trade of gems is, well, the name of the game.
There are many Diamond Districts around the world (shoutout to Antwerp and Surat), but NYC’s is arguably the most well-known – both for its glitz and glamor and the drama that follows.
As diamonds and other precious gems became more commonplace in watch facades during the late 1980s, the Diamond District expanded its offerings to timepieces, which it became known for.
Nowadays? The Diamond District of 47th Street houses more than 2,600 businesses and more than 33,000 employees.
And get this: each day, there’s an average of $400 million in daily transactions. Yeesh.
It’s this dramatic environment - as well as a huge rise in interest following Hollywood’s depiction of the area – that makes any kind of content filmed there wildly popular on TikTok.
Enter Vookum, a.k.a Tyler.
Who the f*ck is Vookum?
Now that we’ve got some, ahem, essential history out of the way, let’s cut to the tea:
Who is Vookum, and how did he become the biggest name on #WatchTok?

Well, it all started when he was 19, with the help of a friend’s father (and against his own parent’s wishes). They weren’t exactly thrilled to hear that Tyler was done with college.
“You went to college, though?” Austin asks.
“I went to college for three weeks,” Tyler laughs.
He’d been working in sh*tty jobs since he was 16, and he started to realize something:
His dream was to work for himself, not somebody else. To do that, he needed to take a non-traditional path
Plus, it’s not like the dude hadn’t been hungry to work – he was sitting in a call center by the time he was 16, when most kids are, maybe, just starting to consider picking up a job at McDonald's.
Tyler then tried flea markets, selling anything from sketchy iPhones to sneakers. Still, it wasn’t scratching that itch, and it wasn’t getting him anywhere new.
He’d been sitting with his friends in the food hall during the third week of college when he slipped in the idea of dropping out mid-conversation.
“These kids were losing their f*cking mind. They're like, what are you talking about? You're never going to be successful,” he recalls.
“So I was just like, f*ck this. I left the next day. I went downstairs. I was like, how do I drop out? And they were like, are you okay? Do you need to talk to a counselor?
I was like, no, I just want to leave.”
When he first dropped out, he was delivering pizzas and running Uber Eats for gas money and essentials. It wasn’t exactly glamorous off the bat, but it was still building Tyler’s confidence in his ability to depend on himself and nobody else.
“You got your first job super early, you were ready to work!” Austin laughs.
“Yeah, I think there's this idea now that people need to start their own business right out the gate, and they don't need any life skills,” says Tyler.
“No experience,” he continues. “I did Uber Eats, I did McDonald's, paper routes, all jobs that teach you work ethic and basic skills like communicating with people and managing money.”
But let’s be real, the dude didn’t drop out of college to deliver pizzas. He had bigger dreams than that.
“My good friend James, that I grew up with, his dad always did watches,” Tyler reveals.

“I saw that he kind of chilled, and he spent money on whatever he wanted. He had a nice house and nice cars. I was like, I would like to be like that.”
So Tyler asked his friend’s dad if he could join him on a business deal, and for some reason, the dude said yes. Tyler started going with his friend’s dad to the city every day of the week to flip and resell watches.

“He would give me a watch and be like, go sell this for whatever,” Tyler laughs.
“So I'd walk around the street with the watch, and I'd sell it. I'd try selling it, and I'd sell it for about $6,200.
I'd bring him his $6000, and then I'd keep my 200 bucks. I would do it again and again, and then I would start buying my own watches.”
TikTok and the new generation of watch resellers
In the 90s, 00s, and early 10s, watch resellers in the Diamond District could be easily grouped into one social class, race, and sex. Basically, it was a game for middle-aged, wealthy, and predominantly white men.
Nowadays? Diversity runs the show.
According to an article from High Snobiety, NYC’s Diamond District is seeing a change from brick-and-mortar storefronts to the rise of digital establishments, with social media influencing a new generation of watch seekers.
And Tyler himself is one of the most prolific names in the game on social media, with 2.2M TikTok followers eager to witness every exchange he makes.
Once his mentor showed him the ropes, Tyler picked up the game pretty quickly.

“The first two watches I bought were two Omega speed masters,” Tyler tells Austin.
“I bought them for like 1500 or 1600 each, and I sold them for $200 profit. Then I bought two Rolexes and made like 500 each on those.”
“Damn,” Austin laughs.
“This was all in the same month, so I'm thinking, oh my God, I'm rich. I'm done. I'm going to the top. I just started flipping watches on my own.”
So, hold up, where does TikTok come into this? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Watch reselling is a high-stakes game - and to be successful, you need a solid reputation. People need to trust you, know that you’re legit, and have a reason to come to you (for example, you can source the rarest sh*t).
What better way to do this than through social media, using livestreams, TikToks, and Reels to reach thousands of new people by the day?

Following the success of Uncut Gems, people were desperate to get a glimpse of what they now knew to be a closed-off and cut-throat world existing right below their noses.
With big names in the #Watchtok world cropping up, such as John Buckley, Julia Azeroual, and Mike Nouveau, Tyler was in good company.
He even joined forces with John to create the TikTok show ClockWork Dynasty, chronicling the adventures of the two 47th Street dealers.

But another benefit of taking business online was that Tyler was able to reach new buyers from around the globe. We’re talking people with serious money to blow, as well as some big names.
“Like I’ve sold a watch to… You ever heard of Mr. Beast?”
“Who’s that?” Austin laughs sarcastically.
“You know who Karl Jacobs is?”
“Of course,” Austin nods, eyes gleaming.

“Yeah,” Tyler laughs. “Funny story about him: I got this DM from Karl Jacobs. I don't know who he is. I don't watch YouTube.”
“If I knew who he was, I probably would've freaked out, but I had no clue who he was.
I see a profile picture; the kid looks like he's 12, and he's telling me he wants to buy a two-tone submariner for his dad,” Tyler tells Austin as they drive.
“And I'm like, brother, this kid's 12. I'm not going to answer him. He DMs me again. I ignore him again.”
“Damn!” Austin laughs.
“He's like, yo man, I really want to buy a watch.
So I open his thing up, he's like, I'm ready to pay today. And I'm like, fine, whatever. I'll just sell him a watch. He sends me the payment.
I'm like, maybe I shouldn't have ignored this kid. I guess he was for real.”
What really goes down during a watch deal
“We want to get into this game today and figure this the fuck out with you!”
“Do they give you write-offs at Whop?” Tyler laughs, “Because you're probably going to lose money today.”
But Austin had already pulled 10K out of his personal account at Chase Bank the day prior.

“I need money for the shoot we're doing. It's part of a video, that's why I need the amount of money using real money,” Austin tries to explain to an anonymous (and seemingly dumbfounded) bank teller.
Having walked out of the bank cash in hand, we’re on.
“Vookum, this is on you, bro. Please, please. Let's make some money tomorrow. Or I'm cooked.”
The next day, the boys are walking through NYC in total downpour towards 47th, and you can tell when they arrive by the lit-up window displays, totaling millions worth. This is high-roller heaven.

The boys head into Watch Time Fly, Vookum’s dealer, and the place he started flipping. These guys specialize in genuine, pre-owned luxury watches.
Sitting in front of the owner’s desk, Tyler begins unwrapping a timepiece for Austin.
“The reason I had to come here today was to kill two birds with one stone,” he explains.
“I could have just paid the $70 to have this thing shipped here, but instead, I chose the more expensive route.
So, this is just a generic Batman. 2024. It’s brand new, unworn. I have this thing sold. Tell them how much I paid for it,” Vookum gestures towards his friend.
“$15,500,” his friend says with a friendly sigh.
“I'm charging $17K for this, he knows it. He’s making his money, so it doesn’t matter,” Vookum explains, and the owner nods along.
I’m getting the Adam Sandler vibes now, to be honest. And we’re only just getting started. Now, it’s Austin's turn to get a piece of the action. But first, he needs a watch to flip.
“He has $10,000,” Vookum begins explaining to the owner. “Okay? That's all he has. Do you have anything that he can make a couple hundred bucks on the street?”

Lowkey, this interaction reminds me of when you get your dad to order for you at the restaurant because you’re too shy.
“It's too risky,” the owner replies.
“Well then, he's going to learn a lesson.”
After a lot of back-and-forth bartering on Austin’s behalf, Vookum gets the price of a timepiece down from $10K to $9,750, giving him a little more room to work with – though not much.

It’s time to sell this thing.
Vookum rolls with Austin into three separate dealers, who all seem mildly impressed by the watch. Maybe this is their genuine level of excitement, or maybe they’re turning it down for Vookum, the cameras, or both.
Either way, it’s a hard sell at his first pitch of $11,000.
You can practically see the beads of sweat forming on Austin’s forehead, even if you aren’t watching in 4K.
“We’re cooked,” he says, trying not to lose hope.
But Tyler, on the other hand, doesn’t seem too fazed. One, it isn’t his money. But it’s also not his first rodeo, and I get the feeling he has a few tricks up his sleeve yet.
One dealer offers $10,000, but Tyler politely declines.
“So basically, by him saying 10, that means I can make $250 right now. I'm not going to, I'm going to probably hold off until we get to the shop and maybe post it online,” Tyler explains to the camera.
“Are you good?” he asks, turning to Austin.
“I need to sell that fucking thing, bro,” Austin replies, with all the desperation of a man being hunted for sport.
Vookum seems nonchalant – was that a shrug? Either way, the guy isn’t fazed.
“Alright,” he begins. “Basically, it didn't sell at 47th Street. Shocker. I'm going to literally just post it up in the Vookum verify group, and it's going to end up selling anyway.”
Flipping watches on Whop
We arrive at the Vookum store, and Tyler gives us a tour. All the while, you can feel Austin desperate to get this f*cking watch sold.
“So we got this Rolex coke, the papers aren't here yet. Check that out,” Tyler shows the watch to his coworkers.
“I'm going to sell it on Whop. It's got papers. You think I can do it?”
“You know something? I have faith in you. I really do,” his coworker responds, and my eyes go straight to Austin, who’s really counting on this guy’s intuition.
Tyler begins to explain how he sells watches on Whop, including the verification process and the specifics of what people want to see in photos.

“So first, we have to open up Whop, then we go to the dashboard,” he shows Austin his backend.
“We have to go to watch trading,” he explains, referring to one of his forum widgets. “The last post was three minutes ago, it’s pretty active.”
Now’s probably a good time to tell you about Tyler’s Whop, Vookum Verified.
Not only is this a place to learn directly from Tyler and his team (who have over 30 years of joint experience in watch reselling) – but it’s also a place where Vookum sells exclusive pieces himself.

We’re talking about luxury watches at wholesale prices.
“I don't know, bro,” Austin nervously laughs. “From what other people are saying, it doesn't sound like this thing's going to sell.”
This doesn’t seem to faze Tyler as he posts the listing. “I'm going to ask 11,” he says confidently. “All posted! So, hopefully, someone buys it. If not, the video's not going to be that good.”
Before long, a comment has come in offering $10,300. Shortly after that, Tyler’s on the phone.
We’re all watching on in awe as he negotiates the sale for $10,500 – but nobody is more excited than Austin.

“I’m up! Gimme that,” he gives Tyler a high-five. “They said we weren’t gonna sell it, bro!”
“No, I said we weren’t gonna sell it,” Tyler says, deadpan as hell. Lowkey, the guy is also hilarious. No wonder he does huge numbers on socials.
Learn the art of luxury watch flipping with Vookum Verified
“Give us a quick 30-second rundown of what your businesses are,” Austin asks Tyler.
“Watch trading, watch reselling, sponsorship deals. My whop, or you guys,” Tyler explains.
“Funny enough, we just switched over to the actual Whop app. This is the watch discussion tab,” he shows us on his phone.
“People are in here asking questions like, is this watch real? Is this watch fake? How do I start?”
Tyler’s community has 2000 members, and it’s growing month on month.

“We got 500 members in about two days,” he tells Austin.
“So I have 7207 lifetime members who are paying 20 bucks a month, and it always staggers around 2000 members a month.”
“I don't know if you want to tell people how much you've made off that,” Austin says, but you know he’s hoping Tyler will spill, and so am I. “What does that actually look like?”
“Over a million.”
So yeah, that’s crazy. But I mean, the dude keeps a spreadsheet of all his earnings dating way back to 2020, so you know he’s serious about cashflow. As serious as he is about watches.
So who better to learn from? If you want to get into the watch game, you don’t need to be based in NYC’s Diamond District – especially not as luxury watch flipping moves digital.
What you do need is a solid personal brand, a good understanding of the product, and a network to source and sell pieces. With Vookum Verified, you get all 3.
Collectors, enthusiasts, and aspiring entrepreneurs are all catered to, with direct access to Tyler and his team, legitimacy checks, a chat widget with other members, and the ability to partake in local and international watch trading.
Plus, as I said earlier, you’ll get access to luxury watches at wholesale pieces directly from Tyler and other verified resellers in the group.
Start your luxury watch flipping journey today with Whop

If you’ve been dreaming of getting your Howard Ratner on, why wait? You don’t need any experience to get started; you just need the right guidance.
And you’ll find it here.
Join Tyler’s community and learn the ins and outs of the watch-flipping business. You can buy, sell, and trade with other members, have pieces checked for legitimacy, receive direct guidance from the Vookum team, and avoid the same pitfalls Tyler made (like being scammed on his first deal).
And when you’re ready to sell watches yourself? Build up your personal brand on social media and funnel your buyers through to your own whop, where you can host private auctions in the chat widget and complete customer purchases within the app.
Plus, when people join via your direct link? You keep up to 97% of your profit.
Join Vookum Verified today and learn how to flip watches from TikTok’s most prolific luxury reseller.