Horological Meandering

Stolen watch databases

Currently there's more than one stolen watch database and each search of a database requires payment. Ok for a professional reseller, but it limits usage to seasoned professionals and private buyers who purchase online and are careful enough to check against multiple databases. Imagine having to punch in your credit card for each watch you want to check while you browse at your dealer...or haggle at the pawn shop, where stolen watches might be fenced.
The industry has become comfortable with e-commerce and secondhand sales. I'd like to see the industry to support a definitive stolen watch database as a non-profit and work on making it a dependable check for private individuals and professionals (with the appropriate disclaimers provided with each search).
You still have to buy the seller, regardless of how many tools are available to check these things. Thieves can be very clever and will play our eagerness and emotions against us.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

By: SALMANPK : November 30th, 2022-23:59

Coveting with other people want is as old as time and with a growing wealth gap globally security and safety has become more a concern than ever before and now after reading about this latest example: www.watchprosite.com I myself have been a vict...

:(

By: AuHavrePro : December 1st, 2022-00:06

I'm not sure that you can do much about it other than service it at an unauthorized place.... What an unfortunate sequence of events when you end up getting into a 'void' like that one........ Wish I could be more encouraging or constructive....

This is a hypothetical scenario, correct?

By: ArmisT : December 1st, 2022-00:12

Yes but I feel it might be one many will find themselves in considering how many watches are being stolen now, definitely should check if the watch is stolen or not before purchasing it....

By: SALMANPK : December 1st, 2022-00:48

which sometimes we are too excited not to do if we find our dream piece

I just didn’t want to read that this was your personal experience…which thankfully it is not.👍🏽

Thats bad…😣

By: S F : December 1st, 2022-00:32

Sad to hear but your title more or less sums it up. If you file a police report, there is a chance you have to surrender the watch without any assurance of getting your money back. To get recourse from the seller would seem difficult too if you all are no...

I don't believe this would happen as you describe. Let play it it logically....

By: BigFatPauli : December 1st, 2022-00:55

You reported a stolen serial number to a brand, they see it is stolen. In your example the original owner was paid out by their insurer, meaning the new legal owner of that watch is the insurance company. The watch brand would inform the insurance company...

Find a trusted watchmaker to service it.

By: enjoythemusic : December 1st, 2022-01:24

At the end of the day, that's all you can really do.

purchaser in good faith

By: epigram : December 1st, 2022-06:51

in the hypothetical country of sale/purchase (or even across countries), would there not be protection for innocent purchasers in good faith for paid good money for what they would not have suspected was stolen goods?

Precisely what needs to be examined. At least in the U.S., we have bona fide purchaser rules that protect a good faith buyer...

By: vitalsigns : December 1st, 2022-14:17

...who did not know or have reason to know of stolen goods. This is a legitimate legal (and ethical) concept not to continue to create victims (subsequent purchasers) who acted in good faith. The original owner/victim can protect himself via security and ...