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I have a watch from Blancpain that I bought in 2014 from an individual in Poland (I have a written contract). I've sent the watch to Blancpain in Switzerland for periodic inspection and they seized it, explaining the watch was stolen 10 years ago in Germany.

In Poland, there is a law that when you bought a thing in good faith, you become the owner after 3 years even if seller was unauthorized to sell, didn't have rights to sell the item, or the item was stolen, etc.

Is there a similar law in Switzerland? Or, if the item was stolen, it doesn't matter when and you bought it in good faith (a written contract, no special price, so no suspicion of unlawful possession by seller), do I have to give it back? Or is Blancpain wrong and they can't seize it?

Rodrigo de Azevedo
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Wojciech
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5 Answers5

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"Gutgläubiger Erwerb gestohlener Dinge" (buying of stolen goods in good faith) is a big topic in law. Different jurisdictions handle it differently, but most European (civil law) systems have some kind of rule that accept the ownership of a buyer in such a case. Here is a good article that compares different jurisdictions on exactly such an issue. Luxury watches are a kind of art.

According to Swiss law (Art 934 ZGB), the item must be returned when discovered within 5 years of the theft. However, the rightful owner must pay for any expenses you had. Since the theft was more than 5 years ago, the watch is, in my opinion, rightfully yours.

Since Blancpain is in Switzerland, they are obviously bound to Swiss law. Also, they are not the police, so they cannot seize an item. They can only safekeep it and report to the authorities.

I would also contact a lawyer for help. It seems to me like a case you should win.

Peter Mortensen
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You describe a case with two or possibly three affected jurisdictions, Poland, Germany, and Switzerland.

  • First, you can of course demand that the Swiss company should give you documentation about the theft in Germany. You can contact the German police and ask for confirmation. (The Germans might also want to look at your contract for fingerprints, etc. That's presuming you are interested that the true thief is caught.)
  • All three Countries have a rule that lengthy possession of an object in good faith leads to a transfer of ownership, but the length of of the waiting period differs. You don't have the watch long enough for Germany, you may have it long enough for Switzerland.
  • There are also special rules (longer periods) when it comes to works of art. I presume the watch isn't one ...

I expect that the watch is worth so much that you should consult a lawyer.

o.m.
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Not directly applicable to the OP, but in England and Wales (and I suspect most jurisdictions), if the person that purported to sell/give it to you didn't have good title (because it was stolen), you don't have good title either. And it doesn't matter how long you and your ancestors have "owned" it.

Martin Bonner supports Monica
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The key point here is the existence of good faith.

Written contract and usual price might be enough by common goods, but not by special or luxury goods. According to quick google search, Blackpain has service to check the watch authenticity before purchasing. Your failure to use that service might be interpreted as the lack of the good faith, and it looks like the reason why they feel entitled to seize your watch, because the 5 year period apply only if good faith is present.

Only court can decide if good faith on your account was present or not, and only a lawyer can advice you, what are the chances of winning, but in case of loosing, you'll have to add lawyer costs to your lost. If you have legal protection insurance, it's definitely worth to contact them, otherwise it's up to you if you need to fight or not.

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The manufacturer isn't seizing it, but they're also not going to adjudicate this on their own. They're going to hold that watch in safe-keeping until a court of competent jurisdiction tells them to do something with it.

So somebody is going to have to file a lawsuit. The judge in that lawsuit is going to expect every party with a stake in the matter is served notice of the lawsuit. That will include the crime victim and the insurance company of the shop that sold it.

Everyone will make their argument, answers and replies will be written, and any arguments by any party will be cross-examined. The judge will rule, time will be given for dissatisfied parties to file appeals, and then the watch will go where the judge said, as will any other compensation that may be ordered.

Since some states provide good-faith buyers a limit to how far back theft claims can go, one of the things that will be litigated is which jurisdiction applies and whether the buyer or seller acted in good faith. That would be based on how a 'reasonable person' would behave given the norms of the high-end watch resale market, a sophisticated market by definition. These aren't cheap bicycles. I would expect things to be raised like

  • the use if available of stolen-watch databases.
  • the category of dealer the seller is in.
  • the price relative to norms and the degree to which a notably low price affects good faith.
  • the reason for buying such a watch from a non-shopkeeper if one could get the same thing from a reputable and insured shop at same price.
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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