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The National

Could you really flip a stolen Richard Mille? The truth behind Your Friends & Neighbors watch thefts

In Apple TV+ show Your Friends & Neighbors, disgraced financier Andrew 'Coop' Cooper, played by Jon Hamm, casually plunders the wealth of his elite suburban social circle after he falls on hard times in the middle of a professional and personal collapse. In one early episode, Coop slips into a neighbour's empty mansion and makes his way out with a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5811, a timepiece the show lists at $175,000. In another episode, he scarpers off with a rare Richard Mille RM011 sports watch, asserted to be worth $250,000. With his own Drive de Cartier on his wrist – a comparatively understated personal piece maybe more in line with the trend towards smaller watches – Coop amasses a trove of trophies from friends' vaults and drawers with apparent ease. The series, a satirical caper set among New York's ultra-rich, has been described by one reviewer as 'if The White Lotus came back from holiday". While the luxury elements are comparable, it presents the fencing of these high-end watches as deceptively simple. A local pawnbroker named Lu pays cash for a stolen Patek, warning Coop only to keep quiet about their arrangement. It all makes for slick television. But how realistic is this portrayal of stealing and reselling six-figure watches? To seasoned collectors and industry insiders, Your Friends & Neighbors takes creative liberties with how easy it is to steal and flip a luxury watch. In the show, victims are oblivious to their missing Patek and Richard Mille – one character supposedly had not worn his $250,000 watch in years and might not even realise it has gone. Coop operates with impunity, banking on the idea that the ultra-wealthy are too distracted to notice the loss of a 'spare' watch. In reality, however, owners of a 5811 or RM011 are usually acutely aware of their whereabouts. These watches are not casually strewn about, they are typically secured in safes or safety deposit boxes, often for insurance purposes. The disappearance of a $250,000 timepiece would likely be noticed immediately. Unlike on TV, a thief in the real world cannot expect an easy, no-questions-asked sale. A Patek or Richard Mille is instantly recognisable to anyone in the trade and any legitimate dealer would be deeply suspicious if one surfaced without provenance – 'box and papers', in watch industry speak - especially from a shifty seller lacking even a basic backstory. Each high-end watch carries a unique serial number. The moment one is reported stolen, that serial is circulated through industry and law enforcement channels. Trying to offload a flagged watch to a reputable shop or pawnbroker is more likely to result in arrest than profit. In one real-life case in Dubai in 2023, police issued an alert with a stolen Rolex's serial number and the thief was promptly arrested when he tried to sell it to a dealer in the city's Gold Souk. The fiction of a frictionless resale omits a key truth: today's secondary watch market is no longer an off-the-books bazaar. It is a globally networked ecosystem, increasingly adept at sniffing out illicit goods. Luxury watchmakers are also turning to technology to make theft and resale harder. Some high-end brands now issue digital certificates of authenticity anchored to blockchain ledgers, permanently linking each watch to its serial number and transaction history. 'We decided to use the most secure and most recognised solution," says Stephane Carlier, chief digital officer at watchmaker Ulysse Nardin, who started using blockchain authentication in 2019. "Ninety per cent [of customers] see the value of using the blockchain to protect their certificate and 100 per cent are satisfied with receiving a protected digital certificate," he says. Meanwhile, top brands have become more assertive in policing resale channels. Rolex, for example, launched a certified pre-owned programme that authenticates second-hand watches sold through authorised retailers and issues new guarantees. "Only Rolex can confirm the authenticity of a Rolex watch," the brand said in a press release at the time. "This is why any pre-owned Rolex watch that is part of the Rolex certified pre-owned programme must return to the brand's workshops, where its original configuration is rigorously verified." Any watch lacking papers and certification becomes much harder to legitimise or resell at full value. When a stolen watch does reappear – such as during servicing – it often triggers a quiet alert to authorities or the original owner. As entertaining as Your Friends & Neighbors is, its premise of a one-man crime spree exploiting the watch resale market does not reflect the checks and chokepoints of today's reality. Yes, luxury watches are tempting loot – they are small, portable and immensely valuable – but the industry's defences are growing more sophisticated. Thieves may be quick to snatch a Patek Philippe Nautilus, but the clock starts ticking the moment it is stolen. As serial numbers enter databases, each passing hour increases the odds of detection. Many stolen pieces do resurface, only to be flagged or seized when buyers or service centres check their IDs. The show's plot device, a friendly neighbourhood fence handing over cash with a wink, is more fantasy than fact. This is a market that thrives on trust, traceability and verified provenance. From the perspective of a collector in Dubai or an auctioneer in Geneva, the lesson is the same: luxury watches carry trail marks that are hard to erase. So when Your Friends & Neighbors features a Richard Mille or Nautilus changing hands at the click of a latch, viewers should remember that those gleaming trophies are among the most traceable objects a thief could steal.