Branded Authentication Resources, Training Dates

Events, and Industry News

Underpinned by more than 30 years’ experience in the Watch Industry, The Watch Scholar was founded at the end of 2024 to address the lack of education and training opportunities available to Authenticators, Valuers, Pawnbrokers, Auction Houses and Dealers working within the Secondary Watch Market.

One of our missions when we started The Watch Scholar was to develop courses and resources, both online and in person, that would build towards an accredited qualification.

And, just a few months later, we are delighted to announce that The Watch Scholar is now formally recognised as a provider of `NAJ trusted education and training’, the only Watch Valuation and Authentication courses of their type in the UK, and proudly endorsed by the NAJ.

Staying up to date with the latest developments in watches, both real and counterfeit, is vital in today's fast-moving market.

This needs to be balanced with an understanding of vintage watches,
their development and context.

CURRENT TRAINING COURSES

Fake Franken Customised Watches Training Course

Watch Authentication
Identifying Fake, Franken & Customised Watches
Two Day Course

Confirming the authenticity of a watch is vital in today’s market. Mistakes sadly can lead to a loss of money and a loss of professional reputation.

Counterfeit watches are becoming more accurate every year, with more brands being affected. Fake watches may come with matching box and paperwork, may be set with real diamonds, come with a fake retailer receipt, and even offer a view of the movement.

Frankenwatches, built from parts, are an increasing problem both in the contemporary and vintage watch markets. Watches with prestige brand names may be worth only the scrap value of their parts.

Customised watches have their own place in the market but need to be separated from factory-set examples, with the value, warranty and service implications clearly understood.

The Watch Authentication course will teach you a methodical approach to appraise any watch from any era. With hands-on experience with a wide range of fakes, ‘Super fakes’, boxes and warranty cards, this two-day course will open your eyes to the challenges of authentication, and give you practical skills to tackle them.

On completion of the course, attendees with be eligible to access exclusive and individual ‘deep-dive’ brand modules as they become available in early 2025.

Next course dates:

Tuesday 10th & Weds 11th February 2026, London SOLD OUT

Tuesday 10th & Weds 11th March 2026, London

(If you require the content of this event tailored to your organisation or have more than 6 people to train it might be better for you to host a private event. Please get in touch to discuss this).

Find out more & to book

Watch Valuation

A Detailed Guide to Valuing Watches
Two Day Course

Applying a value to a watch can be necessary for many reasons. It may be a replacement value at the new retail level or a replacement from the secondary market. It may be a value to sell or a value for probate or family division.

For each of these situations, it is crucial to understand which market you should be comparing to and the exact nature of your watch.

This two day course will enable more competitive reserve setting for auction without being unrealistic, and prevent over-lending against watches, facilitating better buying decisions.

Next course dates:

Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st January 2026, London