That's true. People will do anything to get a watch off your wrist! In London, scores of young men have died, usually stabbed, by a perpetrator who wanted to steal their watch. And yes, the "bank" solution is not perfect neither.
Yes, there are a lot of auction houses, dealers, and other brokers who literally fence stolen goods or help people fence stolen goods. When they're contacted by the owner, the auction house wants to protect to consignor, and they basically give the watch back to the consignor. The watch is then lost again for years... This has unfortunately happened to multiple WatchProSite members here.