The auction house is sending this message. If the stolen watch is successfully auctioned, then (a) the thief receives his money and (b) his identity remains secret. If the auction is interrupted for any reason -- for example, if the watch is discovered to be stolen before the auction successfully completes -- then (a) the thief receives his stolen watch back and (b) his identity remains secret.
[Note that I am not accusing the consignor of knowing that the watch was stolen at the time he gave it to Antiquorum to sell. I have no idea, of course.]
I hope the consignor -- who now knows he possesses Nico's stolen watch -- is reading this thread and will do the right thing by contacting Nico. And if the consignor chooses to keep the watch, then I hope the enamel dial is cracked and the watch doesn't work (or, even better, that the watch was stolen a second time while in transit from Antiquorum -- THAT would be beautiful).
I also do not understand several things here.
First, how was this a good business decision on Antiquorum's part? Collectors are their base, and surely they must know that these stories get told publicly. I can only hypothesize that the consignor of this stolen watch did, and will continue to do, a tremendous amount of business with Antiquorum. What else could explain this decision?
Second, how is Antiquorum's behavior legal? When Antiquorum received the returned watch from the winning bidder, Antiquorum knew that they were in possession of what was very likely stolen property. It is curious that Antiquorum was not required to hold the watch and/or remit it to law enforcement pending some sort of legal resolution.
Lastly, I note that the Antiquorum auction listing says "Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense." I can only imagine the fiasco that would have ensued if the buyer never discovered the theft and instead innocently followed Antiquorum's recommendation by sending the watch to Lange (which knows it is stolen) for overhaul.
This message has been edited by CR on 2015-12-26 12:35:28