I never thought of putting this on the forums until I saw this section.
Stolen from Solihull in the West Midlands in April 2016, amongst others, a much loved Rolex Daytona stainless steel, Serial F156407.
I don't expect it back, but I'd love to know it's been sold to someone who appreciates a good watch rather than being kept by a scummy burglar.
Not straightforward questions.
There are a number of registers of watches that have been reported lost or stolen thereto, all of which hold details of different watches and most of which are not easily accessible to a casual enquirer. GDPR is probably going to cause some further headaches!
No one can guarantee that a pre-owned watch is not stolen. Many owners fail to record the number of their watch before it is lost, so if papers / card have also been mislaid there will be a problem identifying it. Buying a pre-owned watch from an individual, known or not, bears the greatest risk of all --- not just because they are less likely to have done any checks on registers but because if they turn out to have sold a stolen watch, albeit in ignorance, they may not readily be inclined / able to refund you when appropriate. This is where buying from a decent business or recognised dealer of substance should have inherent value.
H