FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Registration:

If you register a watch at Certifiwatch, you submit relevant information and data of the watch through our online registration form.

After submitting this information, Certifiwatch checks if the watch is eligible for registration on our platform.

If the watch is eligible for registration, a Certificate is issued for the watch, and the watch gets published in our database and receives a unique certification number. Now, this registration number (and the Certificate) can be used for future reference, for example to report theft of the watch, or to have a potential buyer of this watch check with Certifiwatch if the seller is the actual owner of the watch.

(Important: Certifiwatch will never publish serial numbers on its website, but uses the serial numbers as an important part of its assessment for eligibility.)

Please note that registration at Certifiwatch and issuing a Certificate includes a check on authenticity, but does not include an in depth assessment of the status/quality of the watch and its current market value.

Assessment & Valuation:

The Assessment & Valuation service entails that experts with specific expertise with regard to your watch, assess your watch on its 1) authenticity 2) quality and current market value. As a result, you will receive an official in depth assessment report including the estimated market value at date. 

The Assessment procedure is identical to common academic practice: a double blind review procedure. This means that only the assigned coordinator knows the identity of the two experts that independently from each other assess the watch. 

Assessment can take place based on digital information, meaning that it not strictly required to send the watch physically to Certifiwatch. However, the expert will request specific information and high quality (close up) pictures in order to undertake the assessment. These pictures will become an integral part of the final assessment report.

Certifiwatch has been founded to support transparency in the (neo)vintage luxury watches trade worldwide. Brands that are eligible for registration are a.o. Rolex, Omega, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Heuer and so on.

Certifiwatch works with experts that have years of experience in the field of vintage watches. Every watch is unique. Hence, Certifiwatch submits the assessment request amongst its expert.

Certifiwatch will only accept an assessment request if the watch has been registered at Certifiwatch and an expert in the field accepts the assignment based on his/her expertise on the specific watch.

Our Certificate is listing the watch's specifics at the date of issuing the Certificate. Hence, it gives a transparent insight for future reference. It also means that the current owner (registrar of the watch) is known at Certifiwatch.

Though Certifiwatch explicitely is not a watch trade platform, it does allow registrars to indicate if they are open to requests from visitors of Certifiwatch who show interest in their watch.

If a registrar indicates that he/she is open to receiving offers, Certifiwatch technically opens the possibility on the specific watch page, for people to leave their email address if they are interested in purchasing this watch. Certifiwatch will then pass on the submitted email addresses to the Registrar of the watch, in order to get in touch with them.

At any time, the Registrar can indicate he/she is no longer open to offers (e.g. if the watch is no longer in their posession).

In some cases, the Registrar of a certain watch has indicated that he/she is open for offers.

You can recognize this on the specific watch page. On this page you will find a text line called "Options for this watch".

If the current owner of a watch is open to offers, amongst the options you see: "Purchase this watch". When selecting this option, a button appears "Leave Your Email Address" which, if clicked, gives the opportunity to leave your email address.

Certifiwatch will forward your email address to the owner of the watch in order for him/her to get in touch with you.