The most valuable watches stolen in the UK this year were all rare timepieces made by Richard Mille, The National can reveal.
Suspected crimes database The Watch Register has a list of stolen and missing timepieces worth £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion), with the most valuable an RM 72-01 made by the Swiss-based luxury watchmaker and valued at £300,000.
Next on the list are a RM 055 TI White black dial worth £270,000 and an RM 67-02 Carbon valued at £250,000. At number 10 is an RM65 01 TI worth £200,000.
watch seller
The Watch Register reports seven out of the top 10 losses were due to "theft from person" while the individual was wearing the watch, and in some cases would have involved violence or the threat of violence. One watch was taken as a result of fraud, another stolen in a burglary and one was lost in "an accident”.
Katya Hills, The Watch Register’s managing director, warned luxury watches remain a target for thieves even in places where their wearers might feel safe.
“High-end venues are not necessarily a place of safety any more," she told The National. "In fact, if you’re going somewhere upmarket, then it’s probably better to leave your watch at home in a safe.
“It's important that owners of luxury watches are alert to this type of crime, particularly if they are going to an expensive restaurant, luxury hotel or exclusive club, as these places are often a hotbed for spotters looking for a potential target, especially one who has their watch on display and their guard down."
Earlier this year, Devin Narang, the founder and partner at Sundev Renewables and an executive member of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, warned that senior executives of Indian companies had been "mugged right in the heart of [London's upmarket district of] Mayfair". Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he had stopped wearing a watch after a murder over a Rolex was recorded on the security cameras outside his company offices in Knightsbridge, west London.
Metropolitan Police data, collated by law firm Lawtons, has revealed the number of reported luxury thefts in London has surged 22 per cent in the past year, reaching a total of 9,433 stolen jewellery, watches and handbags in the past year alone.
Last year's top 10 list of most valuable stolen watches was also topped by a Richard Mille, an Rm 52-01 with a skull at its centre, but also included a £110,000 Patek Philippe 5130p 014 World Time Dubai edition and a diamond-set Rolex Daytona, valued at £65,000.
Richard Mille produces only 5,300 watches a year, which have a distinct look. Many have a tonneau or 'rounded rectangle' shape, with the intricate and precisely finished mechanisms on display. The Swiss brand has become known as “the billionaire’s handshake" and its watches can be found adorning the wrists of many celebrities and sports people.
Ms Hills explained that Richard Mille watches continue to be "very collectible because limited production volume means that many models are extremely rare, making them highly sought after". But she added: "Unfortunately this desirability and their high price tag has also made them a prime target for criminals."
Pre-owned
The market in pre-owned luxury watches is booming, as collectors are seduced by their beauty and fine craftsmanship and, with prices seemingly always heading up, they are of course a sound investment.
But the downside is that thieves are also looking to cash in and the number of watches recorded as lost or stolen has more than tripled in the past 12 months amid a wave of thefts, with London the epicentre.
The level of organisation that watch robbers employ was revealed in an investigation by The National into the activities of an Algerian-led gang, who were jailed for a carrying out a number of violent robberies in central London.
The gang travelled across Europe using fake ID to London and preyed on victims in upmarket areas of the capital, where there were easy pickings in the shape of unsuspecting wealthy watch wearers.
Spotters would identify targets to nearby pairs of gang members waiting on mopeds, who would swoop, with the pillion passenger ripping watches off victims' wrists. Switching roles, the spotters would then run "interference" on victims to prevent them giving chase.
Once the watches were stolen, they could be smuggled out of the UK and be sold on the global market within a matter of hours, the Met Police said.
"Major cities like London, Paris, Barcelona and Milan, which are tourist hotspots, continue to be blighted by luxury watch thefts, partly due to the high concentration of affluent individuals who are the targets,” said Ms Hills.
“The international nature of the market for such high-end watches means that stolen items can quickly be moved across borders, distancing the thieves from the goods. Law enforcement agencies are stepping up efforts to counter these crimes but the combination of high rewards and relatively low risks for thieves means that luxury watch thefts remain a persistent issue in global cities.”
Protection
The Watch Register works by owners giving them the serial number of their beloved timepieces. Dealers, pawnbrokers, auction houses or would-be buyers can check a watch’s serial number to see if it has been stolen.
A specialist recovery team then goes to work, liaising with the party that reported any loss and the seller to resolve the matter.
The company said 1,000 lost and stolen watches have been located by the database in the past 12 months, which equates to more than £10 million worth of the luxury goods. Examples have turned up in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Belgium, Portugal, the UAE, Germany, Hungary and the US.
Richard Mille founded his watch-making company in 2001 but has in a short time managed to crack the top six watch brands by sales, with revenue rising 15 per cent to 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion) in 2023, the latest figures available.
The company has a close association with Formula One team McLaren and several drivers including Charles Leclerc wear the watches. They also grace the wrists of musicians including Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z and Ice-T.
Manufacturing involves building tiny, mechanically precise movements with high-grade finishes and materials. The watches are hand and machine-tested, subjected to both small and big shocks, as well as ultraviolet and moisture tests, and are done in small batches, so the watchmaker can’t take advantage of quantities of scale.
Oliver Muller, the founder of Switzerland-based LuxeConsult, explains how this scarcity of supply has contributed to the company’s success.
“You introduce the novelties with very, very small quantities, so people get even more crazy about the novelties,” he said. “You create an even higher demand. And it works. Rich people are very naive – you make them believe that they can’t buy something, it will increase their eagerness of getting their hands on that thing.”
