Interview
SWOP — interview with the CEO
Interview by Harriet Murray-Hundley with Riccardo Dana, Founder and CEO of SWOP
Sponsored by swop.trade
SWOP is the AI watch partner for owners and dealers. We sat down with the CEO to talk about the watch market, and why Monaco is such a natural home for it.
What does SWOP do?
SWOP aims to make the ability to manage and sell luxury assets such as watches, yachts, bags and collectibles easier to buy, trade or sell using AI.
Where is SWOP based? Does it help people all around the world?
SWOP is based in the USA, but we try to operate globally. We have customers across 15 countries.
What's the craziest trade you have seen?
I think the craziest and coolest trade was probably my own, where we pioneered the trade/barter of two $1.8m superyachts in Italy and Spain.
What's the strangest watch you have been offered?
It was a watch made out of paper and drawn to look like a watch with a pencil. It was quite funny. I almost agreed.
Have you ever known instantly a watch is fake?
No, I wished. It's a great skill to be able to tell a watch is fake, but now for the superfakes you need to open the case of the watch and inspect the interior with special equipment. So I used third-party partners.
What's your favorite car brand, watch brand and boat brand?
My favorite car brand is of course Ferrari — I'm Italian. My watch brand is HYT, because I love the pressurised liquid. For boat brands, it depends, as some of my favorite boat brands also make yachts that I hate. In general, my favorites are San Lorenzo and Hakvoort.
Snow or sun?
Super hard. I love winter, to ski and to cozy up, but I also love a beach with water. If I had to get stuck for a lifetime, I'd rather be stuck on a tropical island with endless sun, as long as the water is beautiful like French Polynesia.
Victoria Sponge cake or bacon sandwich?
Victoria Sponge cake.
Lastly, a fact about you that people in general would not know.
I love dogs, plants and to gaze at the stars whenever I can.