The world’s largest, private database of stolen art and collectibles, has launched a new service this summer called the Watch Register.
The Watch Register, part of the Art Loss Register, is a database of over 50,000 watches and timepieces, and is the largest searchable database of watches available for due diligence. The stated aim of establishing the Watch Register is to encourage the trade to carry out due diligence, to recover stolen watches and, long-term to reduce thefts.
The database carries details of watches by the leading brands Rolex (13,000 items), Patek Philippe, Cartier, Omega, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, TAG Heuer, Vacheron Constantin and many more.
Each search costs £2 with a response time of five minutes.
Since its inception the Art Loss Register has worked with the trade and private individuals to carry out pre-transaction checks on timepieces on the market. As this service has been in ever greater demand, it followed that the company should set up a specialist service, primarily for use by watch dealers, jewellers, pawnbrokers and auction houses. The Watch Register currently conducts 30,000 searches a year, accounting for the equivalent of nearly 10 percent of the Art Loss Registers total searches, with numbers growing rapidly.
Over 25 years the Art Loss Register has developed strong relationships with the police and insurers worldwide to ensure the registration of watch losses, and has also built up support from international auction houses, dealers, pawnbrokers, jewellers and collectors.
