This section links to reporting of frankenwatches (watches that are made up of pieces from different watches, but presented as otherwise). I try to limit links below to those to articles and information that contain enough supporting evidence that I believe the community would accept the accusations as credible.

The below articles, to start from @perezcope (Jose Pereztroika), are the most detailed articles on frankenwatches that we see available. It is unfortunately rare for frankens to be called out – both unfortunate in that people simply don’t do it although they may know of these bad watches, and of course also as there are the bad actors that make these often so hard to detect. Props to those that put in the time and are willing to provide the information to the community.

Perezcope

There are a number of watches that previously were included in the Alpha Hands stolen watch database that have been removed. Those pieces have been removed for a variety of reasons, including:
– the watch registered as stolen has since been found/recovered
– there was an ownership dispute over the watch
– the watch registered as stolen was determined to be a known fake
– request from police/government for removal based on the piece being a seized asset.

I am including those watches previously included in the stolen watch database for transparency.

As with the rest of this Website, the following table, and data contained therein, is subject to Alpha Hands LLC Terms and Conditions.

The above table, and data contained therein, is subject to Alpha Hands LLC Terms and Conditions.

On occasion you’ll hear a story about an ownership dispute for a watch previously reported as stolen, generally in the context of it appearing at auction. In these cases, best to get the authorities involved instead of trying to wrangle the watch back on your own.

Most importantly, if you have a watch stolen you should also file a police report, and maintain all records related to your watch (oh, and you do insure your pieces as warranted, correct?).

As mentioned in the registry notes, the Alpha Hands stolen watch registry does not require a police report to be filed to be listed. The goal in having this registry is rather to just warn someone that there may be a claim to the watch. It’s not a perfect system to be sure, as police reports can be filed or watches simply posted as stolen, when in reality they either have not been, or else the stolen watch turns out to be a fake.

I actually ran into a case of someone disputing the theft of a watch with an Italian dealer, who owns a Rolex 6264, serial 372895, which is the same serial number reported stolen by another collector (on r-l-x.de, later deleted). The dealer provided me with images of the watch, including serial, and dates of posting as evidence of ownership, in addition to mentioning that Rolex had “certified” the watch as having a Paul Newman dial (I have not previously heard of Rolex certifying watches as originally having a specific dial). I removed the watch at his request, and this is just to point out that 1. the registry isn’t perfect (bad data in->bad data out), and 2. beware of fakes!

Please use the Alpha Hands stolen watch registry submission form if you would like to have any watch(es) added. Please note there is little chance of recovery without a police report! So if you haven’t submitted a police report yet, please do so before reporting the watch to the Alpha Hands stolen watch registry.

The Alpha Hands stolen watch registry is the largest free registry in the world, and is used and contributed to by:
– Collectors and enthusiasts
– Insurance agencies
– Retailers/dealers
– Auction houses
– Manufacturers
– Police departments
– Pawnbrokers
– Service providers
– Watch associations/foundations

The registry doesn’t just include stolen Rolex – this database includes a wide variety of manufacturers, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Breguet, TAG Heuer, Vacheron Constantin and others. But in addition to searching the Alpha Hands registry, always perform a broader search (aka Google) for the serial number of the watch you are purchasing (or even a fraction of the serial number). There are also manufacturers with databases of stolen watches, including Rolex.

Alpha Hands does not take a position as to the proprietary rights of the watches recorded in the registry, rather we are just aggregating watches that have been reported as stolen on or to a variety of sources: watch forums, instagram, Facebook, auction houses, police departments, manufacturers and directly to Alpha Hands. As such, there may be disputes over ownership. If you are interested in the original source of a piece reported stolen, please contact us for details. Prospective buyers should always do their own due diligence regarding watches that have been reported as stolen, as well as watches they are purchasing.

Alpha Hands does not assist with recovery of stolen timepieces. We recommend that you work with a company that has experience in navigating the legal process to recover your watch. We do not recommend that you contact the seller/reseller of your stolen watch directly, but rather engage a third party in recovering the watch. We recommend Chris Marinello at Art Recovery International – Chris regularly works not just on stolen art cases, but stolen watches as well.

As with the rest of this Website, the following table, and data contained therein, is subject to Alpha Hands LLC Terms and Conditions.