The UK is suffering a watch theft epidemic, with one stolen every thirty minutes, according to data from UK police forces, acquired by pre-owned watch specialist Watchfinder & Co. Thefts of timepieces have soared by 41% year-on-year with over 1,250 watches taken each month.
More than 100,000 watches have been stolen since 2015 with London at the centre of the crimewave. The capital accounts for around four in ten of all thefts, with one timepiece taken every hour and a half. More than a quarter of watches stolen across the UK are valued between £100-£3001, meaning it’s not just expensive watches being stolen.
Last year, 33 of the country’s 45 forces recorded a total of 11,035 thefts – up 41% on 7,821 in 2021. If all forces had provided data, the annual total would be in the region of 15,000 – equating to one theft every 30 minutes.
Over the same period, London had a 56% surge in thefts, with data from The Metropolitan Police recording 31,283 watches worth £162 million being stolen in Greater London since 2018, including 6,109 thefts last year – the equivalent of over 500 a month – compared to 3,910 reported in 2021.
West Yorkshire Police recorded 810 thefts last year; Hertfordshire Police 507; West Midlands Police 376; Kent Police 324, Northumbria Police 310; and Surrey Police 213.
Watchfinder & Co. has launched a campaign to help tackle watch crime. Consisting of two simple steps – the first being for watch owners to register timepieces as soon as purchased to help protect against theft, and the second to encourage pre-owned retailers to implement thorough checks and screening processes as standard
Arjen van de Vall, CEO of Watchfinder & Co., said: “It is disturbing to see the rate at which watch thefts have been rising in the UK."
Joining forces with Watchfinder & Co. is broadcaster, entrepreneur and watch collector, Spencer Matthews, who was famously embroiled in a watch robbery in London a few years ago. Matthews said: "I was unfortunate enough to be caught-up in a raid on a watch boutique back in 2019 and, since then, I’ve been acutely aware of not only how unnerving these incidents can be but also how much the problem has escalated in recent years. It’s for this reason I’m partnering with Watchfinder & Co. on this campaign - actively addressing the issue head-on and providing practical solutions that will help reduce watch crime nationally. We urge everyone to register their watch(es) on a watch register like Enquirus today so, if any of them were to ever get lost or stolen, they can be reported and flagged up immediately. Similarly – we should only buy watches from trusted retailers and specialists who check and authenticate all their stock as standard. These two simple precautions will make it so much harder for thieves to sell on, and profit from, stolen watches – making it a far less attractive crime to commit”.
Former Detective Chief Superintendent, Steve Wilkins, said: “With watch crime having been particularly prevalent in the UK last year, it’s no wonder Brits want to do more to protect their possessions against thieves. Data from UK police forces shows that watch crime is at its highest point in two years, with most counties seeing an increase of watch crime year-on-year. Of those that have had watches stolen, more than three quarters (78%) say that their timepiece was never recovered. It’s time for us to do more to protect our watches and help combat watch theft once and for all.”
