Over 5,000 luxury watches have been stolen in London over the last three years, but barely one in 88 of these watches has been recovered by the Metropolitan Police.
According to a Freedom of Information request seen by City AM, there have been 5,180 high-value watches, worth £3,000 or more, stolen between January 2022 and July 2025.
The numbers reveal that theft levels remain high, with more than 2,000 high-value watches reported stolen in both 2022 and 2023, 781 thefts in 2024 and 377 so far in 2025.
The data shows that Kensington and Chelsea is at the epicentre of high-value watch thefts, with over 490 incidents recorded since 2022, followed by Westminster and Camden, where thieves often target tourists, shoppers and wealthy residents.
Meanwhile, other Boroughs such as Barnet, Hackney and Lambeth have seen a steady rise, showcasing that this crime is not just located in the city centre.
Rolex topped the list of the most attractive watches to thieves, with over 1,700 stolen watches, followed by Cartier, Omega, Breitling, and Hublot.
Luxury watches are ‘criminal currency’
Danny Toffel, CEO of Watches2U, explained: “Luxury watches are compact, valuable and easy to move across borders; they’re essentially criminal currency.”
Despite the volume of thefts, the FOI revealed that only a handful of stolen watches are ever returned to their rightful owners, with only 59 out of over 5,000 recovered.
“Once a stolen Rolex or Omega leaves the country, it’s almost impossible to recover,” he said.
“Many are traded in parts or resold with falsified paperwork. Without proper documentation or serial tracking, ownership is hard to prove,” Toffel stated.
He suggested that watch owners need to stay one step ahead.
“Document every serial number, ensure your watches are properly insured, and avoid wearing high-value pieces where thieves are on the prowl,” he explained.
But stolen luxury watches are not just a London problem; earlier this year The Watch Register, the world’s largest international database of lost and stolen watches, revealed that the value of the luxury timepieces stolen topped £1.6bn over 2024.