Luxury watch influencer Tyler Mikorski, known as Vookum, explains how an alleged impersonation scam led to his viral arrest before the case was dismissed.
Watch dealer and influencer Tyler Mikorski discusses the controversy surrounding his viral arrest story (Photo: X)
Luxury watch dealer and digital creator Tyler Mikorski has recently emerged as one of the trending names on the Internet following the news about his arrest all over the social media. Having established a business of selling Vookum watches in New York City, Mikorski amassed a following by posting videos on deals on high-end watches, as well as the luxury resale market and the appearance of his mugshot unexpectedly raised heated debates among followers.
Mikorski has since made a video detailing what happened, claiming that he was arrested due to an impersonation scam and not his own conduct. The episode shows the potential speed with which online identities and online stores can cause issues with the law in the modern luxury goods markets that are emerging at an alarming pace.
Tyler Mikorski is a trader of luxury watches and internet personality who is referred to as Vookum in the online circles. He runs his business at the Manhattan 47th Street Diamond District, one of the busiest jewelry and luxury timepiece trading markets in the world. His social media videos present watch negotiations, auctions and interactions with clients. His material has drawn in thousands of watch enthusiasts who value the luxury and can buy individual watches that are worth tens of thousands of dollars or even more.
There is very little publicity regarding the formal academic background of Mikorski while his career started at a tender age. He had completed high school in New York and joined the watch and jewellery business. Instead of going through a conventional business school route, Mikorski acquired practical industry experience in the field by being directly engaged in dealing with experienced dealers. Being mentored at a tender age by watch industry veteran John Buckley, he was taught the basics of the luxury watch valuation, negotiations and market trends.
The career of Mikorski was created in the resale of luxury watches, which is a market that has been cultivated at an impressive pace in the last few years. Analysts predict that the world luxury watch market was over $45 billion in 2024 with the secondary market alone growing on in search of rare watches. Mikorski concentrates on the purchase, sales, and brokering of high-end watches through Vookum. His videos frequently feature the backstage so-called how the deal was made, letting the audience see a little of a niche business that otherwise runs in the shadows among the collector community and the investors.
On March 3, Mikorski was released after being held in custody about three days. At that period, he approached his business associate Mitchell Teper who assisted in getting him legal assistance and the case was dismissed later based on the available records. Mikorski in his explanation video asserted that the incident was due to mistaken identity that was associated with impersonation scam.
Although the actual figures are not made public, the involvement of Mikorski in the luxury watch brokerage business suggests that the company is earning handsomely. Luxury timepieces often range from $10,000 to over $100,000. Established players in the business tend to earn money from their sales. Observers in the business have estimated that players in the Diamond District of Manhattan tend to earn money from their sales.
1. Who is Tyler Mikorski?
Tyler Mikorski is a New York luxury dealer of watches and social media producer under the online alias Vookum.
2. What is the Vookum brand?
Vookum is a watch company that specializes in purchasing, selling and auctioning of luxury watches by Mikorski.
3. Why was he arrested?
Even the law enforcers at first associated him with a grand larceny report about a sale of watches online.
4. What explanation did Mikorski give?
He claimed that somebody was pretending to be him on the internet and a fraud was committed in his name.
5. Was the case resolved?
Yes. According to records, the legal case was dismissed later.
