STOLEN IN TEXAS: 1978 GMT 1675, serial 5515833

[chows99]

It seems that Fedex is the safest choice for shipping high value items.

I hope they continue their stellar record so that buy and selling watches can be safe, secured and ease for everyone.

[springer]

UPDATE................UPDATE

Today I received a call from my watchmaker in Dallas who told me that he received a U.S. Postal Service package on Monday that contained the missing/stolen watch that was the subject of this thread. According to my watchmaker, the package was fully intact and did not appear to have been opened or tampered with in any way. The GMT 1675 was fully secure within the package. The owner of the watch was notified by the watchmaker that the package was delivered and, to say the least, he was ecstatic.

Today I talked with the owner of the watch, and according to him, he has not received any notification from the USPS that the package was located and delivered - which I find appalling. Additionally, he has yet to hear anything from USPS as to where his package has been for the past three months!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tie219]

Great news - would have been a shame to lose such a beautiful GMT!

[05carbondrz]

So where was it for 2 Months?

[cajuntiger]

Originally Posted by springer

UPDATE................UPDATE

Today I talked with the owner of the watch, and according to him, he has not received any notification from the USPS that the package was located and delivered - which I find appalling.

This happens all the time. I receive shipments that never show up in tracking via USPS. I dont ship watches with USPS anymore. Everything goes Fedex via Parcel Pro. Parcel Pro insures the package and Fedex delivers. Ive never had a package fail to track via FedEx.

Just an FYI for those shipping with Fedex directly. FedEx DOES NOT cover watches over $1000. All jewelry, and this includes watches are limited at $1000 regardless of the amount of insurance you buy. FedEx Insurance is a rip off regardless as it cost about 4X what it should, but in the case of watches its limited to $1000. They will sell you $20,000 in coverage...but once they learn its a watch the coverage max is $1000.

Parcel Pro is designed for collectors. They cover the full value for a very reasonable premium and handle the Fedex logistics. Ive been using them for years for both domestic and international.

[Styles Bitchley]

What a crazy story. And what a bizarre happy ending! I can’t imagine how great it feels to recover something so special that you’d written off. Congrats to the owner.


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[btinl]

Wow, where was this package for >2 months?

[springer]

Originally Posted by btinl

Wow, where was this package for >2 months?

Actually, it was a couple days short of three months. Where was it? Who knows. USPS has not admitted to anything or provided any explanation to the owner. As I mentioned in my last post, the original package was delivered fully intact and was not repackaged.

[southtexas]

Originally Posted by springer

Actually, it was a couple days short of three months. Where was it? Who knows. USPS has not admitted to anything or provided any explanation to the owner. As I mentioned in my last post, the original package was delivered fully intact and was not repackaged.

I’ve always heard Corpus Christi is a sunny place for shady people. Glad it was found, what a story/journey.

[fishaddict707]

Wow. This brings back memories when I had my watch sent back to me after being serviced in SF.

In my case, the tracking stated that it was on the truck and out for delivery for almost a week before I finally called the post office to figure out why it was taking so long. They told me they would contact the driver and get back to me. A few days later they told me that the driver had put it back in the back cage as they missed me when they came.They tell me to come by and pick it up. When I get there, the clerk goes to the back for what seemed like forever, searching for it and finally comes back to tell me its not where its suppose to be. They asked for my number so the supervisor can call me. After another week of back and fourth they told me that it was in fact lost but had to be somewhere in the office. After 3 more weeks the supervisor told me that it was in the locked cage the whole time and that the key holder was always out doing deliveries.
It took a whole month but I was able to get my 1675 back on my wrist.

[JustinK]

I have had multiple issues with the USPS but they are for the most part the most economical way to ship, with that said I would not ship high dollar items with them.

I have had two inserts I ordered get lost like this.

One made it from Germany and through customs to arrive at my local unit. A month passed and I had not received the insert so I called my local post office. They told me the package had been there for three weeks but the carrier forgot to deliver it

I had another insert I ordered domestically that fell off tracking in SC. I called the USPS and they advised I would have to fill out a form which was a complete waste of time. About six months later the insert showed up out of the blue in a mangled package.

Glad this turned out well for the owner. Congrats!

[offrdmania]

The OP should call Rolex and let them know that it was recovered so that it isnt still on the stolen list.

[RC2]

Great news. Scary.


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[WIN.308]

Yes, great news indeed! I’m the owner of the watch and to say I was floored to get the phone call that the package was finally delivered is an understatement. When the watchmaker called to discuss the watch today I thought it had to be a mistake, it had gone missing for nearly 3 months and in my mind it was stolen from the USPS facility in Corpus Christi, the Postal Inspector had all but admitted that was likely what had happened, and that was where the tracking ended. Why would the watchmaker be wanting to discuss my watch? He must have me mixed up with someone else. He laughed and said he was looking at it along with the note I had included in the package.

I won’t bore you with all that I’ve gone through the last three months with the police department, the Postal Inspector, Rolex USA in filing a stolen watch report, my insurance company, being denied my insurance claim with USPS, etc. But it ended well. What ticked me off almost as much as my missing watch was the blasé attitude of the USPS, it was basically, “sorry, we don’t know what to tell you, we don’t know where it is, check back later.”

So I am still in utter disbelief that it turned up, delivered and unopened, albeit a little later than promised. I can’t thank John (Springer) enough with his help through this, both with his advice and his efforts in posting PSA’s on here and other sites. John you are a treasure and I am looking forward to buying you the finest meal Dallas has to offer next time I’m up that way!

[Jfullm42]

Wow, how crazy that it turned up! Great news John!

[Boaters]

Awesome to hear that JP .. Love it when the story has a happy ending

[RolexReviews]

I've had very bad experiences with UPS and this did not make my feeling about them any better

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[dbfagan]

Glad it all worked out.

[lhanddds]

That's great, USPS is terrible

[zapokee]

Glad it all worked out . Not a great advertisement for USPS.

[herts9]

Their tracking and notification system is a joke. I've had a couple of high dollar/non-watch items succumb to the Bermuda triangle over the years. After going the route of opening a case with them, the item magically appeared weeks/month later. Who knows if this is a case of a worker holding onto something and hoping that it would slip through the cracks, and once a case has been opened, a 'resolution' is obtained.

Hell, it could have been a matter that the package fell through a crack in the delivery vehicle (I guess it's possible!).

Either way, happy that it got sorted out and the only thing lost was the time and not the timepiece!

[jjcthe1]

I have also had USPS packages disappear for weeks, no emails, no updates, nothing. You call and get nowhere, then it suddenly shows up. I would never use USPS for this reason. FEDEX is the way to go, even if there is a delay, you can call and often they can pin point the package and figure out what is going on. USPS customer service is the worst.

[mjclark32]

Glad it got there, what a roller coaster...

[Danny83]

Great ending I had a package show up a week late but 3 months wow

[linesiders]

Good to see the watch was found and you got it back 7.62

[theflywrist]

Awesome!!!! Glad it all worked out at the end.

[cop414]

Great news JP, the owner has to be delighted!

[gwozhog]

Originally Posted by chows99

It seems that Fedex is the safest choice for shipping high value items.

I hope they continue their stellar record so that buy and selling watches can be safe, secured and ease for everyone.

Safest way to ship is registered mail through USPS. Every postal worker that touches your package must sign and you also get I believe 25k worth of insurance included. It is very slow delivery but your package will arrive. I believe RSC wants all watches sent to them using this way too.

[dhknola]

Bizarre. Beyond glad the watch is 'found' but where was it for the 2+ months?? At least it's a nightmare that ended.

[Cantab]

Originally Posted by gwozhog

Safest way to ship is registered mail through USPS. Every postal worker that touches your package must sign and you also get I believe 25k worth of insurance included. It is very slow delivery but your package will arrive. I believe RSC wants all watches sent to them using this way too.

I have always paid for the additional cost of registered mail and sufficient insurance to cover the full value of the watch. I have never had a problem, and the shipping time might be a day or two longer.