Watch theft wave continues – with £1.5bn-worth pinched this year alone

A sharp rise in theft has more than tripled the number of watches recorded as lost or stolen over the last 12 months, according to new data, as the value of missing timepieces hits £1.5bn.

Figures published by The Watch Register, which is the world’s largest watch database, showed a 236 per cent jump in the volume of watches registered as lost or stolen across its platform in the last year, which it pinned on higher levels of criminal activity.

The group’s report, marking its 10th anniversary, found that the value of missing timepieces had soared to £1.5bn. It added that more than 100,000 had been registered as possibly stolen.

Katya Hills, managing director of The Watch Register, said that timepieces had “become a currency for criminals”, adding: “Luxury watch crime is rampant and habitually making front page news.

“The incidence of violent street robberies is escalating, with owners afraid to wear their timepieces in public.

“The strength of the pre-owned market means thieves and fences can easily resell stolen goods for large sums of cash.”

The group’s report recommended “increased collaboration from all stakeholders, including insurers, auction houses, watch dealers, manufacturers and law enforcement agencies” to clamp down on the surge in luxury watch thefts.

Hills added: “A prime focus for the industry therefore has to be to make stolen watches harder to sell, so that consumer confidence can be restored and watches becomes less lucrative for criminals.

“Some of the watches that we recover have travelled thousands of miles across continents from the location of theft.

“The solution to effectively tackling watch crime is therefore to have one central, international database used by traders, police and insurers alike to identify stolen goods and enable people to buy and sell with confidence.”