Rolex found in the gutter !

[conx]

The BBC are reporting a story about a road cleaner who found a gold daytona down a drain in Southend (UK). It is supposedly worth £21,000. He handed it in to the police. Who said honesty was dead !

Amazingly he has since been back to the drain with a TV crew and they fished out more watches including another Rolex.

Here are the links...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-17043528

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-17038519

Let's all go to Southend and get in the sewars - it seems someones been throwing their collection away !

 

[correctime]

Or flooding in surrounding areas has washed them away from their rightful owners....who have most likely lost much more than their luxury timepieces.

 

[DiamondSeeker]

unbelievable!

 

[jstreit]

It is a nice gesture however, what will happen is no one will claim the pieces and the govt will keep them and auction them and the police will be able to buy a couple of new lights for their cars. 21k euros is a lot, he could have changed his life, started a self sustaining business, gainfully employed a few people and could have done something special. Some times it is better to seize the opportunity and change your life and your family's life. If I lost something that valuable I would be angry, however I would have insurance and would have had it appraised. So it would not have been a loss.

 

[conx]

In the UK, if you tell the police you want to keep the found item when you hand it in, they will give it back to you if no owner comes forward within 30 days. If you don't say anything they will send it to auction after 30 days. Let's hope the road cleaner told them he wanted it back.

As Rolex's have a serial number, could the owner not be found by the number?

 

[correctime]

In the UK, if you tell the police you want to keep the found item when you hand it in, they will give it back to you if no owner comes forward within 30 days. If you don't say anything they will send it to auction after 30 days. Let's hope the road cleaner told them he wanted it back.

As Rolex's have a serial number, could the owner not be found by the number?

Probably not..at least not by the manufacturer. I've never known of nor heard mention of Rolex keeping an Owner Registry.

 

[jstreit]

I didnt know that about the UK, thanks for informing me! Lets hope lol.

If he was the first owner of the watch I dont think it would have been a problem to find his purchase doc. But he might have been and 2nd hand owner in which case there wouldnt be a way to tell unless he registered it as a new owner.

 

[ThinkBachs]

If someone lost the watch and the paperwork, they could return to the jeweler where it was purchased and ask for the information to submit to the police to claim ownership.

I'm hoping that the owner is on vacation and doesn't get the local paper. I'm even more hopeful it was lost by someone who took advantage of others to "earn" that watch. Karma sucks...

 

[PecMan]

what an idiot

 

[dlc.nla]

No, Rolex has no internal registry.
& the article says he is entitled to get the first watch only after 30 fdays. Apparently he found like 3 watches

 

[jstreit]

sometimes it pays to be a street cleaner lol!

 

[shaunc]

I saw this video........[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isM9w5Sw964"]Rolex drain find sparks police investigation - YouTube[/ame]

Case back look familiar?

The omega comes in a nice plastic sleeve we should all be familiar with too!

Unlucky for him he's found a load of replicas.

 

[pvaglue22]

I just watched another show that highlighted this on the bbc called "the one show". Half way through the bit they said he found ANOTHER 3 watches down a drain, with all four totalling £60000.

The worst thing is that you would think that the researches would at least verify that the watches were real before they went out. I just had a look at the video posted above. I'm embarrassed at how obviously the one is a rep with that case back.

The are taking the piss and its a set up. OH LOOK ANOTHER ONE.

 

[PecMan]

it must be a septic tank from a toilet located in china

 

[ajs914]

Is the Telegraph a tabloid? I thought he already turned it in to police. How did he get it back for the video?

 

[Bklynboy]

Claimed!