Luxury Collections Facing Increased Theft and Fraud: Strengthen Your Safety Net with The Art Loss Register

As watches and jewelry gain popularity and prominence in asset classes, they also become interesting targets for theft and fraud, especially amid a boom in the secondary market. Steps have been taken to protection against such issues - from smart traveling, safe home storage, specialized insurance products, even consciousness in wearing these items. When purchasing in the pre-owned market, learning the landscape and closely vetting sellers is another step in protecting oneself. An added layer of protection is the option of registering one’s item with the world’s leading databases in the luxury timepiece and jewelry spaces - a step that doesn’t need to come after a mishap. The Art Loss Register, founded in London in 1990, has grown to be the world’s largest privately run database of stolen, lost and looted art, antiques, jewelry, among other collectibles. By the 2010s, it observed an increase in thefts and fraud involving watches and jewelry. This was at a time when Rolex stopped making its lost-and-stolen database publicly accessible, creating a vacuum in the market. This led to Katya Hills, Founder and Managing Director of The Watch Register, establishing the organization in 2014 as an exclusive platform within The Art Loss Register. The Watch Register developed its first service, namely rapid serial checks, to aid a store in making a quick decision about purchasing a watch. Today, users can run checks via various platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage and text message, for a fee as low as $2.50 for bulk checks. In addition to fraud prevention, The Watch Register has a second key offering – loss recovery. Collectors can register a lost or stolen timepiece for $20. The platform only charges a location or recovery fee if the recovery is successful, hence operating on a no-win, no-fee basis.