Rolex needs to release a new model. The Rolex GPS-Master.

My late uncle told me back in the early 90's; when buy a Rolex, make sure you buy a pistol, to go with it!

Rolex probably has no interest in cooperating with police regarding stolen watches for the same reason that Swiss banks generally don’t lift a finger for all of the criminal accounts they are holding. Thank you, Paul, for at least having the integrity to not deal in watches with shady histories

Had my collection taken when some fuckheads broke into my house taking my watches, wife's jewellery and my Jeep wrangler (keys inside the house) I didnt have anything special, but I did have several vintage Enicars and Roamers that are darn near impossible to find today and I had a watch that my grandmother gave me for my christening when I was a baby that had a tonne of sentimental value. They then used my jeep as a vehicle to go around and rob other people's houses for a week. Police found them on the road several times *not hard in a bright orange jeep wrangler* and every single time they let them get away. Never seen any of my watches or jewellery again Jeep was a complete write off by the time they were done. Victoria Police (australia) "know who they are" from CCTV footage of them filling it with diesel at petrol stations, but never laid charges or tell me who they are. Its a fucked world my friend, sometimes I think the Police really dont give a fuck. Just on the Jeep alone I lost over $30,000AUD as insurance fucking shafted me on EVERYTHING. Because the watches weren't itemised I for shafted on that too. If i ever find out who it was I swear to god I'd rip their intestines out through their mouth

Another great and informative video. Keep up the great work, Paul!

Great work Paul! Your efforts will come to fruition! Thanks for caring!

100% accurate. My Dad god bless him had his watch taken off him by some skum bag in Spain, they were in a posh car well dressed spoke to my dad for twenty minutes before conning him out of his watch ( long story ) then a year later he had a young attractive girl walk up to him showing affection with her hand on his watch ! She got told to piss off ! Great video again Paul

Paul! I would be interested to see how many watches have been recovered, "a video down the road would be greatly appreciated".

Lovely information Paul. Also want to say watching your videos is a pleasure - Audio is clear and at proper levels. Video is clear and crisp, with proper colouration, saturation, brightness and white balance. Cheers Mate.

Brilliant video Paul! Totally answers a comment I left on another recent video of yours. Cheers! Keep up the good work!

Great video that covers a topic I'm sure we've all wanted to know about.

You're the voice of experience my friend. Thanks for sharing. Best regards from Adrian in Sheffield South Yorkshire 😆😺

Thanks Paul, always enjoy your content.

Most of these watches stay within the criminal gangs sold to other crooks

Hey Paul, love your vids...keep them coming. Is there a website where the average consumer can go to check if a watch being sold from an online dealer is legit? How can the purchaser make sure the watches being sold are not stolen or fake...perhaps something for one of your next videos.

Hi Paul, as always you are a fountain of information. Love your videos.

Great content Paul. Thank you so much for the education.

nice video and useful info, as usual!

Keep up the good work paul !!!..thank you

I like your videos, informative and enlightening.

Hi Paul, very informative video, thanks for it I gotta ask the question is how can I make sure that the watch im buying from someone or even online that its not a stolen watch?

Great channel Paul. Excellent content.

Spot on again! Importent that you sett focus on these crimes Paul! Police and juditiary system needs to step up effort!

Thank you…As always Paul, another interesting video that is hugely well informed, lots of good advice and very much appreciated content.👍🏻🙌🏻

Thanks Paul. Keep up the good work :)

You are doing the international watch community a service with your videos. Thank you sir.

I'm a collector and lost a Rolex Explorer through the Canada Post....if they can put a microchip in my cat to track him they must be able to do it in an expensive watch!

If not parted out, I would guess a lot of these watches go to overseas dealers in countries that turn a blind eye to international theft. Watch is stolen in UK and shows up on the market in somewhere like Turkey, Bulgaria, or China a few months later.

Excellent vlog, real food for thought I would never dream of spotters looking for drivers.

Nice video Paul saw you in Brighton on Friday

Paul, thank you for the outstanding service you are doing to the watch community. Thank you for keeping us informed, and most importantly to try to keep us safe. I have been robbed in Brazil at gunpoint, and they took the Milgauss I got for my 18th birthday. Since then, I have always recommended to anyone to simply not wear your pieces. Anywhere that you deem dangerous. It’s the only to keep us safe at this point, sadly to say.

Thank you for making this. I was burgled 7 yearsago and my safe was ripped out of my floor containing my watch collection. I'm still devastated as they were mistakenly under insured, hence there was no insurance payout. I would love to be involved in anyway to help put pressure on the powers that be to help everyone recover their watches.

Paul, Thank you...I agree also that the spare parts market can be driving this. Does Rolex only sell parts to authorized dealers?. I've had lesser watches have problems getting repaired, as the repair shops can't get parts.

Keep it the good work 👍

Excellent analysis.

Excellent video Paul. I think what you're saying here applies to so many other things also. I could never afford a luxury watch, but even if i could, i dont think I'd buy one because of this.

Thank you for the public service information. Wish there was more proactive policing.

Strong message. & nice jacket by the way.

great video as aways what do you think about chronext

Thanks for taking our side! a lot of love back to you!

Great work Paul .

My take on this Paul is the growing underground industry of Franken watches in the high end replica community ,were they replace parts on high end fakes with genuine Rolex parts obtained on ebay for a quite considerable sum .My question is ,where are these new genuine parts coming from as we all know Rolex don't issue spares,and breaking the watches down and selling the parts is very profitable and there's very little to trace,just my tupenneth ,keep up the great work ,you're a lovely man

Paul, Good video. your right on every point. Airports , another bad place to wear expensive watch. Theives size you up by your watch, and then steal your bag, wallet, purse, attache etc when your not looking.

Back in the 80’s everybody in my country did 7-15 months of mandatory service in the armed forces. The ones who did the long haul often became officers in the reserve forces. When they were done at the War Academy they were payed a substantial bonus. Several of them, I could say it was common practice among the cadets, marked the achievement by using that bonus to buy a Rolex Submariner. Whst happened was that most of them ”lost” it only to got another one through the insurance. Some put they new one in a safe and was wearing the ”lost” one as a daily beater, some sold it for cash abroad since the register for stolen watches was only local. I remember being offerered to buy these watches from friends and declining. I do believe that insurance fraud is still a large part of Rolex watches lost or stolen and that we should have a global register of this.

Well said, thank you.

Good infomation.👍🏼

Good advice Paul. You could also argue that like other pieces of 'Portable wealth', they are originally bought to launder money!

Hi Paul, great vids as always really enjoy them. My question has always been can we trust dealers such as Watchfinder when they are selling recent or nearly new models when they don’t have papers or boxes? Should our community blank such watches? I personally would not purchase without box and papers unless the watch is vintage. It just seems fishy when nearly new don’t have them, how do they check they are not stolen? All the best Tony

Living in the Philippines I would say a good majority end up in Asian second hand stores. We have a few of them in the malls that have hundreds of Rolex all without boxes and papers.

Great video! Please tell me what band is on that Tudor in the video? Brand? Where are they sold?

Keep up the good work bud.

Good vid paul

Bad things happen to Good People. Some-one once told me that there are no innocent victims. Meaning that People do things which put themself's in Danger. Unfortunately, wearing a nice Watch nowadays is one of these things. Which, thanks to you Paul, I am aware of. And you are 100% correct in saying that Police and Courts need to do their parts if we going to have a chance at reversing these crimes.

I’m in Scotland where one of the most high profile robberies in recent years was the raid on the Rolex boutique at Gleneagles Hotel in 2017. You can find the CCTV footage online. I think the gang have all been caught and given custodial sentences by now, but they stole £500K’s worth of watches which have never been recovered. I’ve often wondered what happened to those watches. Perhaps they’re stashed away somewhere, quietly appreciating in value whilst the culprits serve their jail time. 🤔🕵🏻‍♂️

ROLEX, PLEASE set up a lost/stolen register on your website. This would be SO EASY and a no-brainer for customer support. Doing so would also strengthen your brand image.

Sentences for criminals found to be dealing with stolen watches or stealing watches should be much higher. At the same time I've been a victim of car theft and upon calling the police I was told why am I ringing 999 and to call 111 as it was not seen as an emergency! I insisted to speak to the police as it is a theft and was told I would be contacted within 48 hours of the phone call. I was then contacted within the next 24 hours with a crime reference number then to be further contacted with 12 hours of that to be told that the case was closed. The point of this story to show there was no urgency to find or even bother with my case which was shrugged off and basically left to be dealt with the insurance company. So sadly as much as I would love for them to put more emphasis on watch and car theft i just dont see it being a priority for them. But if we dont persist then we wont get any results. Great content paul, keep it up.

After watching this and your other recent videos I’m wondering if I should sell my luxury pieces, and just own & wear my Steinharts etc, after all I get just as much pleasure in wearing a modest price watch., but one can always keep it up your sleeve & be very careful,but that’s a drag!

Had my Rolex anniversary Sub stolen, along with an Explorer, by a common thief who broke into my apartment while I was at work. I registered the serial with Rolex USA, notifying them that it was stolen. Is there anything else for me to do? The police recovered the Explorer from the pawn shop, there's only one here in town, so it was the first place to look. The pawn shop though knew the Sub was stolen, so shipped it to an out of town branch of the pawn shop and sold it the same day, so that's unfortunately probably gone for ever. Insurance at least covered the purchase price, but not the appreciation.

Paul, if I’m ever in a alley fight, I want you on my side. You serve up the truth with no bullshit.

A friend of mine had his watch collection stolen at his home and they ALL showed up at a reputable grey market dealer in Brussels. Go figure...

Watching these type of videos just makes me wonder if it’s worth pursuing this hobby anymore.

Where you get your white t-shirts!? The ones I have don’t seem to measure up to the quality. Also your sports jacket game is bar none. Cheers!

Hi... just wondering if it’s worth talking about how to secure your watches.. for example taking photos .. serial numbers etc..

Paul I've gotta ask id love a rolex ive seen some on ebay used with authenticity guarantee would this be worth looking at as my budget is limited? Ps really like your no nonsense approach

For your your KZfaq analytics. Cheers

Paul, did you ever get your Rolex watch back from Rolex that you reported to us last week where they contacted you directly?

Cool jacket Paul!

Just wondering Paul ,do other luxury watch makers operate a lost and stolen register

So having a full set of 'papers' something that could help buyers ensure the provenance of the watch is not stolen or is there a better way a prospective buyer can check if a piece is lost or stolen before a sale?

Thanks for the video Paul. A solution could be to NEVER buy without box and papers. Some can make fakes one, but still.

Thank you .

The gold standard for buying a second hand watch is 'box & papers'. We know a replica box can be bought from the net very easily and I'm sure the papers, including the receipt could be forged. Do you know of any watch getting back to the MD which has complete box and papers which turns out to be on their stolen list? If your answer is yes then the only place where you could be certain to buy a genuine watch would be from a MD. Similarly if every watch is 'moody' unless verified by a MD it should be almost impossible to sell your watch to anyone outside the MD network.

Good advice Paul, never wear my Oyster Perpetual when going out with the lads. Even on holiday I wear a lesser value watch.

So I take it that the days of when a guy would sell a hot watch hanging from the inside of his coat are over lol. Unfortunately if the law starts targeting watch crime the criminals will move on to something else to steal.

Thanks

Hi Paul, is there a way to check if a Rolex is stolen without sending to service? I recently bought a Rolex, don’t think it’s stolen but would be ideal to check for piece of mind.

Who do you recommend re insurance these days? TH March have been recommended

Hi. I always understood that if you buy a pre owned watch then you should insist on the box and papers to just limit this action

The biggest thieves in the watch industry are Rolex. These are ordinary mass produced industrial watched which are sold for way more than they are worth due to slick advertising. A Ford for Aston Martin prices.

As you say Paul ,we need tougher sentences.The days of openly wearing high end watches just anywhere are over.Keep up the good work and stay safe.

It’s certainly understandable especially when it’s impossible to source new Rolex however I’m glad I bought my collection before all this craziness

Is it possible for Rolex to put a chip in the watch for tracking it I’m not sure if they are small enough but the registration system is amazing for the people buying a watch I’m hoping to get my first Rolex this year and feel reassured that there is a system in place if it gets stolen great vides.

The answer tracker sensor 🤔

Last month, I brought a couple of watches (Tag aquaracer and Tag Carrera Cal 1887 ) from a police auction ( stolen and forfeited items) I brought the aquaracer to the Tag repairers to get a battery.. Jesus they jumped so far up my ass when they checked the serial numbers it wasnt funny.. I had to show them all kinds of proof i brought them before they decide im the new legal owner of them..

Great video again Paul. I've decided not to wear my Rolex in public anymore. It's sad because you can't have anything anymore but my life is more important. I will only wear it when I think it's safe but won't even let it be seen in public again. 😤

Thanks Paul for your wise words regarding this major problem I see loads of people all the time in central London wearing expensive watches and I think you better be careful your a target for these scum bags kind regards as always terry

Being from eastern europe myself( unfortunately). I know for a fact that some of the stolen watches end up here, in the hands of the rich business men( not talking about 100% legit business men) I’m talking about used, expensive ( even stolen)cars dealers, goods from Russia and Belarus exporters and etc. My friend’s dad ( deals with all kind of goods) got offered Richard Mille for just of a fraction of the real price. My friend said he didn’t like it, so he passed. Said it was stolen too.

Some go straight to the local pawn shop. I know this because I caught the guy who burgled my home at a pawn shop trying to sell one of my Rolexes. Luckily I got it back but he ran off and I never recovered any of my other watches. Also, any online seller that blurs serial numbers (like Watchbox) isn't worthy of your business. They're hiding something.

Paul, could the organised watch gangs strip a stolen watch down to sell for parts like the Bracelet, bezel, movement, crown etc or to rebuild a watch so it could be sold at a higher price? The case is the only part of the watch with the all important serial number? It only needs a bent watchmaker!!

The GPS is a good idea because if they can make them small enough to fit in your pet they can fit it to a watch but I always assumed the stolen watch will end up in a pawn shop or jewelry store in another state or city.

It seams to me that if Rolex chooses to no longer keep a "lost or stolen register", then they are actively participating in the stolen Rolex market. I say this from the stand point that it is now safe to send in a Rolex with questionable origin to get serviced. Previously Rolex would flag the questionable watch and return it to the legal owner. Rolex in essence has increased their market in servicing Rolex watches, where previously people would need to find alternative means to get their watch serviced.

So for example here in The Netherlands or elsewhere, how do watchdealers check if the watch isn’t stolen? And these watchdealers are not official ad’s with a list of stolen watches

Many watches go out to more porous jurisdictions for order. China/Russia/Africa/middle east. Same with cars often stolen at the same time. The houses get burgled in London, Surrey and Bucks all the time and the premium goods are loaded into the boot. The cars are in shipping containers before the sun is up and traveling east where they will be sold for full price.

Who do you recommend to insure a expensive watch

Amazing criminsls would pay 33% to 50% of a watches value considering they're now almost impossible to sell but I suppose it's because of the waiting lists and grey market values. Which brings me to another question. Is the 50% AD or grey market price?

We need a great site to verify the numbers of a watch in an instant to buy with piece of mind that a watch is authentic and not stolen property. That way we can buy with confidence.

They go back to the AD for resell lol

Hatton garden takes the most stolen watches in London 90% of the dealers

I think a large part of the problem is the PC world we live in and the authorities unwillingness to take action in case it’s politically risky. I have a relative in the Met Armed Response Unit, and they were called In by local police as they had intelligence that a luxury watch store in Knightsbridge was going to be attacked by armed robbers. When the ARU unit informed the locals that their mandate was to shoot to kill if the robbers were even thought to be about to use their weapons, they were stood down as that was seen as unacceptable. But ok for the shop workers or customers to get injured I guess.

This video causes me to wonder what might have become of any items stolen from the Rolex Store in New York during the riots. There was video of the event Is it possible they place everything in the safe at night?