Hello,

It has been some time since I have posted on the forum. I am back with bad news

My seamster 166.024 is missing/has been stolen. I shipped it to my watchmaker in italy for a relume, everything went fine and it was ready to be shipped back where I live in France.
I received the package undamaged but there was no watch in it.

I had a discussion with my watchmaker and the inside of the box was not as it was when shipped.
The watch was wrapped in a white cloth inside a plastic pocket. I didn't find it this way.

Strangely the outerbox was clean and properly taped. No sign of effraction. So it was probably carefully re-taped.

I don't really know what to do. The insurance that I use only covers shipment for sale reason and not repair. So it wasn't insured.
I have heard of thewatchregister.com - I think that I will report it there.
Please tell me if I should do anything more.

Regards

 

Ugh. That sucks. Fingers crossed that it turns up.

 

Sorry for the loss . Can you name the parcel-service please?

maybe this helps:

thewatchregister.com

 

It was UPS

 

Are you certain the watchmaker or someone working there weren’t behind this?

 

I can't be certain 100% but this isn't the 1st time I use the service of this watchmaker. He has good reputation on this forum as well. I never had issues with him.

 

Please add serial number and more photos please

 

Serial number : 27602503

photos I took before shipping it to the watchmaker:
photos from the watchmaker:


photo from the original sales page (luckily, I took the flat link bracelet off the watch before sending it):

 

Really sorry to hear this. There are some bad people out there for sure. Also respectfully suggest that you look for a better insurance company. Insuring a watch that's being shipped for repair shouldn't be an issue.

 

Thank you.

I was using secursus and directly asked them if shipping for repair was included in the policy and the answer was no.
I will try to get ParcelPro.

 

Very sorry to hear about this. Did your watchmaker send you a copy of the shipping documents? What did he list as the contents of the package? Does your insurance policy specifically state that watches shipped for repairs are excluded from coverage?

 

This sounds awful indeed... The best you could do I guess is to often google the serial number and see if an auction turns out. Problem is that many auctions have hidden serial numbers. And by the time it turns out, it may well be an auction from a different far-away country that has no laws regarding ownership of stuff from outside.

 

Thank you for your message.

Actually, I provided him a shipping label. I always use "timing device" as content of the package.
My shipping insurance was secursus and I knew that repair was not under their policy so I didn't insure the package knowing it wouldn't have any effect.

 

Are you sure there are no signs of tampering? You can't retape a package perfectly. There would be signs of additional glue or just a badly taped piece(or dust would enter under the glue). I always check for retaping.

Do you know who taped the box itself? Does your watchmaker bring the taped box to UPS or does he bring it untaped?

I've ordered lots of stuff over the internet via both UPS and DHL in Europe and I've seen missing packages but never an empty one.

Also the documentation, if it's UPS taking it, there must be documentation, otherwise how would they know what's inside? I don't think they would randomly open it, if it just says watch.

Is it possible that your watchmaker has an apprentice who takes care of taping and sending the packages?

And more importantly does your watchmaker usually work on such valuable watches?

Assuming you report it as theft, could police check tapes from UPS office?(in most EU countries, I think their offices have 24/7 CCTV)
(if the watchmaker doesn't want to help with reporting it as theft, it would be suspicious)


Have you tried making a claim with UPS?
https://www.ups.com/guestclaims/create

 

I'm not sure that I understand the point of all these questions. The watch is gone and it was uninsured. UPS certainly isn't going to take responsibility for it beyond any limit of liability that might apply and I doubt that the watchmaker is going to assume responsibility for it either. The tragedy here is that the watch wasn't insured for loss in transit because evidently Secursus has a coverage exclusion for watches that are shipped for repair. Time to get a different insurance company.

 

I don't know if appropriate, but the relumer should be Roberto tarabella, one of the best in the industry.

Very peculiar indeed that it arrived as just an empty box, shipment not missing entirely.

Anyways. Best of luck, very sorry to hear this.

 

What about the UPS claim form:
https://www.ups.com/guestclaims/create

 

To my recollection, UPS includes $100 in insurance. Any value over $100 and the onus is on the customer to purchase additional insurance at their expense. OP, does the watchmaker not have shipping insurance since the parcel was being shipped from his business back to you? I'd be shocked if he doesn't have shipping insurance if he receives watches via mail/courier regularly for repair. Did you inquire of him about that?

 

If this was shipped by air UPS should have at least certain scan events which should also include the weight of the parcel along the transit.
E.g. when shipment was handed in it weight 850g but at your destination it only weights 750g then something in between happened.
Did you weigh the parcel when it arrived/after you found it empty?
If the weight was the same as handed in it happened before handover to UPS (which I doubt).
In addition the delivery companies also work with the police in case something bad happens.

For sure UPS should be able to support you and take your problem seriously - their customer service might be of a help.

 

I will try to answer to the previous messages here :

I tried to think about what could have happened. The probable scenario would be that the theft happened at the beginning of the shipment. Someone who would know where the package comes from.
Otherwise, it would be very random that someone down the line opens the package and closes it back.

As I was told by the watchmaker, the watch was wrapped in a cloth and then put in a plastic pocket. Then the pocket was placed in a small box. That small box was placed in another bigger card box and finally there was the outerbox.
So the watch was buried within 4 different packages.

I received every box but no watch. The plastic pocket was opened and the cloth was out of it.

You are correct about the watchmaker. He will post the watch and serial number on his social medias.

I always took care of the shipping and never had an issue until now. I am not sure if he provides insured shipping.

I will contact UPS to know more about what happened potentially.