Reply With QuoteSaw this too.. watchmaster filed for insolvency, horrible stuffOriginally Posted by Mikelancs
Watches worth £12 million stolen from secure storage facility in Berlin!
https://www.watchpro.com/watches-wor...rage-facility/
Saw this too.. watchmaster filed for insolvency, horrible stuff
Wow... Somehow many, perhaps almost all, of those will end up in the secondary market over coming months and years. Lots of land mines when they’re ultimately sent for service and turn out to be stolen.
What a shame for everyone involved - we may enjoy these as a hobby, but events like this really underline the extent to which they’re financial vehicles as well now.
Financial vehicles? Valuables have always been stolen.
Last edited by Kingstepper; 1st December 2022 at 12:15.
Report says that there were ~1,000 watches stolen, and that the value was ~$10 million. That's an average of $10,000 per watch, so obviously all reasonably high-end stuff.
Also, many of the watches were being sold on behalf of customers on consignment, and not actually owned by Watchmaster, so I imagine that the insurance claim will be interesting!
Last edited by PhilipK; 1st December 2022 at 15:01. Reason: Typo
Fixt.
More a restructure it seems because their sunken costs tied into the stolen watches are not recoverable and I presume they foresee reduced turnover due to lower stock. I'd have expected their insurance to cover loss of profits but maybe not!
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Even if there was a full insurance payout who would have confidence in trading with them now?
Yes think they are done.
They were pushing consignment more and more lately and who in their right mind would consign a watch to them going forward.
I can see an inside job here
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It is often when this sort of event happens either the company finds itself under insured or there is a gulf between the stock value in the accounts, vs the actual value vs the insurance payout (which will probably be trade value not retail leaving a lot of unhappy customers with consignment stock paid out at trade value if at all.
break through a secure 1.75 meter thick steel door
In which case our home security must be child's play to those sort of thief's.
It's pure speculation at the minute - no actual investigation details have been revealed.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
To be fair, they're not the same people who'd come for a Grand Seiko and a couple of homages.
I presume “last known new retail price” is likely to be the max insurance co. liability. If you had a Hulk consigned at £20k you’re having a stinker, likewise Daytona, GMT etc…..
Secursus offer the same cover I believe…..
On WUS there’s a thread running, if true it seems like Watchmaster are asking those who’ve handed over their watch on a consignment basis if they have their own insurance policy they may be able to use
“Dear ...,
Unfortunately, we have to inform you that Watchmaster ICP GmbH in Germany has filed for insolvency in order to place the company under creditor protection and secure the future operations of the company.
It is important to us that you receive this information from us directly and do not have to learn this from the press.
The preliminary insolvency administrator Philipp Hackländer, who has been appointed by the court, will now take on the task of restructuring the business to secure the continuance of the operational business.
We assume that filing for insolvency will have no impact on any claims arising from the burglary of 19 November 2022. We continue to work closely with our insurance company to resolve the incident as swiftly as possible. As soon as we have further information in this regard, we will share it with you immediately.
With regard to the loss of your watch, we would also ask you to check whether you have private insurance that might offer you additional protection.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.”
Must be a nightmare if you’ve handed over one of your watches on consignment and you don’t know where you stand.
Company going bust has a break in where most of their liabilities get stolen and money will have to be recovered from their and the actual owners insurances. Yeah that does not sound suss at all !
They have only filed for insolvency protection as a result of the break in, as I understand it!
It seems to be like Chapter 11 in the USA: I.e. It protects them from aggressive moves by creditors while their affairs are being restructured with a view to coming out of insolvency. Of course, if the insurance doesn't pay up (enough), there might not be much restructuring to be done.
It raises a question: Does home contents insurance and/or watch insurance cover one's property sent out for sale on consignment?
I think that must be right, but we can at least console ourselves with the thought that we don't all own 1,000 watches with a five figure average value.
Would be devastating to most.
Don't buy watches you can't afford to lose.
Does that mean you don’t buy insurance for anything?
Always the fear of using consignment. Very much doubt any personal insurance will cover owners. They have handed the watch over to a commercial entity. Plenty of small print for insurers to get out of that.
Why would it mean that?
Interesting point, and what worries me is id assume the person holding it would be insured and would hopefully remember to ask them if I left anything woth them for sale.
Id find it hard to imagine ones won insurance not immediately insisting it was the dealers/sellers issue and arguing from there, delaying the owners payment for a good while at least.
Rgds
I haven't got anything on consignment so it doesn't worry me.
No. I just don't invest money in a hobby that I wouldn't be financially comfortable losing.
Not buying insurance for anything would be illegal; e.g. assuming you drive on public roads (which most of us do).
So is your watch collection tiny, are you rich, or just talking balls?
Insuring a watch collection is sensible for most. If I were to have a £20k watch stolen it would hurt. Covering it for such a circumstance for a small additional premium on my contents policy is a fair trade off.
I wouldn't be financially comfortable with that loss - any loss, so take measures against it. Its loss would not make me starve, but nothing wrong with planning for such a scenario.
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