Value of lost, stolen luxury watches soars to $1.6 billion

The Watch Register was founded in 2014 and has grown to be the largest international database of lost or stolen watches. The company’s 10-year annual report found a 236% rise in unique serial number registrations in the last year alone, with the total value of missing timepieces amounting to more than €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion).

The average value of these stolen watches ranges from €10,000 to €20,000, according to the report. Rolex is by far the most commonly stolen watch, with Metropolitan Police reporting 48.9% of stolen watches in London between January and September in 2021 and 2022 were Rolexes.

“The incidence of violent street robberies is escalating, with owners afraid to wear their timepieces in public,” Katya Hills, the managing director at The Watch Register, told PA Media. “The strength of the pre-owned market means thieves and fences can easily resell stolen goods for large sums of cash.”

Over €4 million worth of watches returned

While watch crime is up, The Watch Register is reuniting owners with their watches about four times a day. Once a match is made, the investigative team at The Watch Register uses cross-border negotiation skills to reunite the timepiece with its legal owner. The database prevented more than €4 million ($4.3 million) worth of lost, stolen or fake watches from being sold in the secondary market in 2023. Of the watches added to the register in 2023, 50% were located within a year, and 35% were found within six months, an increase from 30% and 25%, respectively, in 2022.

The Watch Register’s team of “specialist hunters” has helped uncover instances of insurance fraud, prevented insurers from having to pay out on a claim by finding the watch in time and even dismantled a criminal organization. The company identified 11 incidents in which watches that were allegedly lost at sea were found with no water damage on the secondary market. In some cases, it was the policyholder selling the “stolen” watch. A stolen Rolex located by The Watch Register spawned an international police investigation, which took down a group of criminals systematically targeting elderly people and jewelry stores.

A centralized, global database

The report outlines the pitfalls of multiple registration databases for stolen watches and calls for a centralized service to reduce confusion and streamline data collection to increase the chances of finding a match for a lost or stolen watch once it’s uploaded. The company believes a single point of registration would help users trade and sell in confidence because auction houses, watch dealers, pawnbrokers and jewelers often consult the database before transactions to ensure the watch is not stolen.

The Watch Register warns against using open-access databases where users can create a listing because this process leaves room for several errors. It’s easy to mistake the letter O for a zero when entering a serial number, which lowers the chances the watch will match with the original owner in an open-access system. A managed database removes user error and ensures an accurate listing and timely return to the owner.

Hope for victims

In a recent podcast, a writer for Vanity Fair, Punch Hutton, detailed her experience with a burglary at her Southern California home. A criminal cased her home during an open house and stole watches, jewelry, handbags and her sense of security. While Hutton could replace some items with her insurance payout, the engagement ring her husband had made from a family heirloom diamond was irreplaceable.

Without a recognized database, Hutton was told by another victim to scour flea markets, pawn shops and watch resale sites to look for her stolen goods. In her case, the ring – or rather, watch – leader was caught by LAPD, and some of her items were returned. Most victims are not so lucky.

Watch theft isn’t just about stealing luxury items; these incidents rob victims of their sense of safety. A centralized database could lower insurance losses from watch theft and help victims reclaim their power and their things.

Related:

• The most common types of insurance fraud to watch out for
• 8 ways to avoid jewelry loss or theft while vacationing
• Stolen valuables: Determining the amount owed to the insured