and I meant "consignor"--the current owner who sent the watch to Antiquorum to be sold. I did not mean Antiquorum's buyer who researched it, notified you, and then returned it to Antiquorum based on what he learned--he is blameless. And I did not mean Antiquorum, whose role in this had already been fully discussed.
But the current owner now faces a dilemma, it seems to me, and the only solution is to approach the authorities. But any of us, in his position, would do so with great caution and legal counsel. If he keeps it, now that he knows it is possibly (from his perspective) stolen, then he loses his position as a bona fide purchaser, it seems to me. If he sells it with that knowledge, he becomes a trafficker in stolen goods. If he throws it into the sea, he could still be held responsible for its value, given that he has undermined his status as a bona fide purchaser.
The current owner, if truly a bona fide purchaser, would probably be discussing the matter with his attorney. After all, he would also be the victim of a crime and would want to weigh his options to protect his own investment to the extent possible. If he bought it from a fence, knowing that it was likely stolen, he'd still be talking to an attorney to try to construct a defense. I rather doubt that fences or thieves work directly with public auction houses like Antiquorum--too many records are kept. But if the current owner was consulting an attorney, he might put the watch in the hands of an escrow agent to protect himself from any claim of being unresponsive to the knowledge that it might be stolen, while also protecting himself from loss until the validity of the various claims was resolved. It might be possible to get an injunction to force him to take that action--I don't know. I doubt he would send it to you until instructed to do so by a court--I wouldn't if it were me. Probably, the watch is evidence of a crime and it will take some time for you to recover it even if the current owner reports it as we all hope he will. But this is a bad time of year to get legal advice even if the current owner is pursuing it, and probably little can happen during the holidays.
My hope was to shift the focus from Antiquorum, despite their deplorable behavior, to the current owner, who should be the focus of attention, given that 1.) the watch is in his possession, and 2.) his legal status is therefore the one that counts towards getting the watch back. The first step is to confirm that Antiquorum has informed him that the watch is reported as stolen, which I'm not sure they have done with their mealy-mouthed wording. That would be their least legal obligation, it seems to me.
This message has been edited by rdenney on 2015-12-31 07:49:23