I first met Julia on TikTok, in a video by vintage watch expert and power player #watchtok New Mike: she is the only woman in a group of mostly elderly men selling watches on 47th Street in the Diamond District of New York City.
That’s part of the reason Julia’s social media presence is so winning: it’s entertaining to watch her deal with men, often twice her age, with raw precision but agile. She calls herself the little fish “walking among the sharks.” The videos of her talks are highly valuable but not contrived. She’ll have dinner with a shopkeeper or a cup of coffee she owes them, and she’ll gobble up the New York-style thin-crust pizza on the glass counter she works on. She will explain the difference between two iconic high-end Rolex models and film her hustling around the watch from start to finish. And she does all her work in chic silk blouses, sharp black eyeliner, and manicured nails.
Watching Julia barter with a customer or co-worker feels like witnessing a tightly choreographed dance where she gets to the beat; she controls in an addictive way to watch. It was obvious that people underestimated her, for whatever reason—age, gender, experience, or all three. But Julia has an adept sense of how to use her expertise, charm, and understanding. You can feel her beaming smile through the screen as she signs a deal and proves a clearly skeptical partner wrong.
But Julia’s TikTok celebrity is only part of her story. Azer grew up in a small Jewish community in Morocco. After studying in Israel – where there are better educational opportunities for women – she moved back home and saved up to move to the US. While in Morocco, she started selling used luxury goods; After moving to New York to continue her education, she continues to practice in her spare time. But she quickly overcame that world: after winning a major client the company she worked for worked so hard to get, her boss turned down her commission.
This was a turning point for Julia and set her down in the fashion industry. Then Covid hit, and she was fired. She begins to map out her next move and she thinks about her grandfather, a watch lover.
“I always ask my grandfather,” she said, “What is 47th Street? [He would say] ‘This is the Diamond District, where everything happens.’ And I said in my head, I will work there.”
She called someone she knew who worked on 47th Street and offered to work for him for free—managing social media, lists, errands. She knew almost nothing about watches, so she spent the day searching Google, watching YouTube videos, and texting a watchmaker she knew, learning about the inner workings. of the clock and negotiations. These days, Julia manages top-to-bottom reselling and negotiations; She sources and authenticates watches, manages repairs and resells to her customers Ari . Premium Watches on 47th street.
