Luxury Watches Worth More Than $1 Billion, Mostly Rolexes, Vanish Into Thin Air

More than $1.3 billion worth of luxury wristwatches were reported stolen or missing in 2022, according to data from international watch tracking company The Watch Register, Bloomberg reported.

The data was tracked using the company’s Watch Register Index, which monitors thefts of pre-owned high-end timepieces, found that Rolex is the brand most targeted by thieves.

Rolex accounts for 44% of the stolen timepieces, with Omega and Breitling trailing far behind, making up only 7% and 6%, respectively, of the total stolen wristwatches, the index reported.

Last year’s stats showed a 60% surge in theft reports compared to 2021, Bloomberg reported. The upsurge, which coincided with the pandemic, resulted in an additional 6,815 watches being added to the database.

Katya Hills, the Watch Register’s managing director, told Bloomberg in a statement that “the considerable value and prestige of these high-end timepieces continues to attract the attention of sophisticated and international criminal networks making them a prime target for theft.”

The index has tracked data for three decades and recorded upwards of 80,000 thefts since its inception. The data tracker located 620 watches last year, per its website.

The London-based company said its data includes “much of the same data as that held by Rolex, as well as other stolen watches which have not been reported to Rolex.”

The Watch Register maintains close relationships with law enforcement agencies in areas susceptible to watch-related crime, including police forces in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong, according to the company’s website.

 Data tracked by The Watch Register found a 60% surge in watch-related thefts during 2022