Chopard

Sneakattack
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Remaining optimistic!

So, I'll write a different thread on the entire experience with dealing with watch recovery, but I thought an update would be good.
1) I drafted a letter (or rather, my lawyer did) and sent it to the Beijing auction house as well as their NYC office. The auction house (Beijing Poly International Auction, Co., LTD) was amazing! First of all, I want to give a shout out to the London Metropolitan Police. They reopened a closed case in 24 hours, and then the PC in charge of the case immediately began contacting the auction house as well as the Police Liason at the Chinese embassy. As a result, BPIA took the information about a stolen item very seriously and delisted the item before the auction (which is actually Sunday).
2) No auction house is just going to ship an item back to someone claiming that the watch is theirs. As a result, while the London Metropolitan Police worked their angle to get the Beijing Police to put a restraining order on the watch, I also put out some cash to hire a local lawyer in Beijing (who came with recommendations). They also went to the police, expediting paperwork such as a power of attorney in order to represent me.
3) As a result, the auction house is still holding the watch, but the Beijing Police have told them not to send it back to the consigner. There will be a hearing on Monday with regards to determination of ownership, but with my paperwork (receipts, etc) and the crime incident report from the London Met, I'm hopeful that the hearing will be conclusive.
4) It appears as though the consigner has also hired lawyers, but in the end, the chain of ownership and the stolen item report should be sufficient to defeat any claim.
I'll continue to keep updating. Hopefully on Monday, I'll have some really good news!
This could never have happened without Chopard's people looking out for this item. Granted, it's a unique piece, but you can see what kind of service a family run company can provide.
HAGWE,