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Hello everyone..

Well today I received an unwelcome call from my local RSC here in the UK advising me they are retaining a watch I took there for service two days ago.

The watch is a Rolex GMT Master 2, 16710, K series from 2001.

I purchased it 10 days ago from a trusted seller on ebay who deals with high end watches. For my peace of mind after receiving it, I took it straight to RSC as it was in need of a proper service. The manual wind wasn't buttery smooth and I wanted the handset replaced. I also wanted to flag the 'stolen or not' status of the watch now, rather than in a year or twos time when I take it to RSC inevitably at a later date. Finding out then that it has been stolen would be a disaster as trying to make a claim against the seller after a certain period would be likely futile. Best to know now.

Anyway , this morning, RSC call me to tell me they're holding onto the watch as their record show it as stolen in Cologne, Germany in 2003!

So if you ever needed proof that Rolex do indeed keep a register of stolen watches, this is it.

To say I'm saddened is an understatement and now begins the process of trying to reclaim my money back. I have contacted the seller and he too was shocked and has said verbally on the phone he will return my money once he sees the proof from Rolex that they have indeed held the watch back.

I am being advised that Rolex Geneva are being contacted who will forward the information onto Rolex Germany and I am now in limbo land regarding what happens next.

I've spent the entire day scanning and emailing proof of purchase, receipt showing serial number of the watch where and when i purchased it and told everyone I need to tell whats happened and am now awaiting a refund. I just hope its forthcoming.

My advise to anyone who ever buys a second hand Rolex is that you can't be too careful. I've purchased a number of Rolex in this fashion before and never had a problem, but have been caught out with this one. Box and Papers or not, a trip to the RSC seems to me the only sure fire way to check that you've actually bought a watch that does or doesn't have an undesirable history to it.

I do it every time with second hand Rolex and I'm glad I did with this one NOW, so as to prevent the problem biting me on the backside later on when trying to make a claim for a refund will be out of the question

The watch concerned is pictured below......