What to check before you buy a used watch

A used watch arrives with a history you can't see. Most of the risk in buying it, whether it's a fake, a stolen piece, or a watch that isn't what it's described as, shows up in the checks you run before you pay. Doing them the same way every time is what turns them from a good intention into protection.

The watch itself

• Read the serial and reference. Find them on the watch, record them, and photograph them. They're the anchor for everything else you check.
• Match the papers. If the watch comes with a warranty card or certificate, the serial on it should match the watch. A mismatch needs an explanation before it goes any further.
• Check it runs and keeps time. A watch that stops, runs badly, or has a sticky function is a prep cost, and possibly a reason to walk away.
• Look for signs of replaced parts. Aftermarket dials, bezels, bracelets, or crowns change what the watch is worth and what you can say when you sell it.
• Authenticate anything you're unsure of. If you can't confirm it's genuine yourself, have someone qualified look before you buy, not after.

Where it came from

Ask how the seller got the watch and how long they've had it. A straightforward answer that fits the watch, its papers, and its condition is reassuring. A vague or changing story is a reason to slow down.

Stolen-watch databases exist for exactly this check. The Watch Register describes itself as a global database of lost, stolen, and counterfeit watches, and dealers and pawnbrokers can search it using paid credits.^[1] A clean result isn't proof, but a match is a clear reason to stop.

The seller

Confirm who you're buying from and keep a record of it. Some cities spell out exactly what to collect. Dallas, for example, requires the seller's name, address, date of birth, and ID number, plus a photograph of the seller, on purchases from the public.^[2] Even where your city doesn't require it, the seller's identity is what protects you if the watch is ever claimed.

The local rules

Your city may require more before or after the purchase: a police report, a hold before resale, or both. Phoenix, for instance, requires reportable property to be held for 10 days after it's reported.^[3] Some cities also require a dealer to report property they know, or reasonably should know, is stolen, as Houston does.^[4] The compliance checker lists what applies where you operate.

Keep a record of the checks

The checks protect you twice: once when they stop a bad purchase, and again later, when a record shows you did them. Note what you checked on each watch, what you found, and when. If a watch you bought in good faith is ever questioned, a consistent, dated intake record is far more convincing than your memory of what you probably did.

The same record feeds everything that comes after: your city's reporting, your tax records, and the listing you write when you sell. The recordkeeping guide covers what to keep and for how long.

When to walk away

• The serial is missing, altered, or doesn't match the papers, and there's no good explanation.
• The seller can't or won't explain where the watch came from, or won't show identification.
• There's pressure to skip your usual steps or to pay in an unusual way.
• A database check or your own instinct says something is wrong.

No deal is worth buying a watch you may have to hand back.

Two checks get their own article: spotting a fake and checking papers and service history. Inspecting a watch at a viewing covers doing it all in person.