Ten years later, AP received it for service. Repaired it. Issued new papers. Returned it to the fence who brought it in. The owner got nothing. This is not a one-off. The industry's stolen watch recovery rate is 2.3%. You file a police report, you register the serial number, you do everything right — and statistically, you are not getting your watch back. The databases exist. The anti-theft programmes exist. The press releases exist. The watches don't come back. Check the serial number before you buy anything pre-owned. Nobody else is doing it for you. For sure, the industry doesn't.