The latest from the Watch Register, who insist on using capitals, apologies for that. But this is still interesting reading for any HNW brokers looking to offer cover on luxury wristwatches. These remain top targets for pro thieves and status symbols amongst the criminal community, which in itself makes any Patek, Rolex, Hublot, Jacob & Co etc a target, along with its owner.
Visits to a pawnbroker are usually to raise cash against assets, but sometimes it’s about getting an accurate value. In any event, these are high risk premises, with highly valuable databases of customer addresses, pawn history, plus FCA notes on vulnerability, regular defaults or maxed out borrowings on certain items. As Swiss brands like Rolex and Breitling move towards digital passports for their products, rather than paper documents, the value of all records held within that asset chain become more valuable, and therefore a greater insurable risk.
Here’s the word;
Analysis of THE WATCH REGISTER’s database, which holds £1.5 billion worth of lost and stolen watches, shows that there has been a 36% increase over the last year in the number of checks on luxury watches undertaken by pawnbrokers. The increase in searches indicates that the cost of living crisis is driving some luxury watch owners to pawn their timepieces in order to obtain a short-term inflow of cash.
Luxury watches are one of the first assets that people will liquidate in a financial crisis. Consumer research from THE WATCH REGISTER finds that 22% of luxury watch owners have sold a watch or watches over the past two years. Of those who had sold a watch or watches, four in 10 (37%) said they had done so as a result of the cost of living crisis and needed the money.
Second-hand luxury watches can fetch thousands of pounds, with the findings revealing that the highest proportion (19%) of luxury watches sold in the past two years were worth between £6,000 and £9,999, followed by 17% worth between £4,000 and £4,999 and 15% worth between £5,000 and £5,999.
Katya Hills, Managing Director at THE WATCH REGISTER said: “The pre-owned luxury watch market has become increasingly lucrative, and it’s no surprise to see that owners needing to boost cash reserves during the current cost of living crisis are finding ways to do so by pawning their watches or resorting to selling them. Businesses and subsequent purchasers should be aware that the risk of purchasing illicit goods in the pre-owned watch market is high and a theft check should be undertaken upon every transaction, even if the watch is offered with box and papers.
“We work closely with the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) in the UK and the broad adoption of checks by the pawnbroking industry has shown a shift in attitudes to due diligence. We have been encouraged by the high volume of checks undertaken by NPA members to ensure any potential stolen property is identified prior to transaction, allowing these items to be removed from circulation. By conducting due diligence on the ownership of luxury watches, pawnbrokers are upholding the integrity of their businesses and contributing to the safety and security of their communities.”
The NPA said: “Our pawnbroking members use THE WATCH REGISTER’s excellent service to provide security to the business and to support their customers best.”
THE WATCH REGISTER database is a simple way to check if there is a known issue with any watch offered for sale or loan. This comes against increased regulation and compliance requirements for the pawnbroking industry, so this additional due diligence measure helps to demonstrate fit and proper business culture. THE WATCH REGISTER theft checks have been adopted by two of the UK’s largest pawnbroker chains to identify lost and stolen property.
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