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José Antonio Guerrero
Madrid
Tuesday, 3 September 2024, 15:55
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More than 500 luxury watches seized from anti-drug trafficking police operations in Spain have been put up for public auction.
The bidding, which is already open online, includes luxury brands such as Cartier, Rolex, Bulgari, Jaguar, Tag Heuer, IWC Schaffhausen, Omega, Breitling, Hublot, Pierre Kunz, Concord, Viceroy, Seiko and Festina, among others.
The online auction is open for bids until 12 September with a live presentation on 9 September by well-known radio and television presenter Luis Larrodera. That can be viewed on the YouTube channel of Escrapalia at 8pm.
"The auction ends on 12th, but it is already open to the public. The presentation on 9th is to encourage interested parties to bid, because experience tells us that bids accumulate a few days before the auction ends," said Francisco Azores, marketing and communication director of Escrapalia.
The proceeds from the auction, like all proceeds from the government's confiscated assets fund, will be used for prevention, assistance and social and employment integration programmes for drug addicts. This is a significant amount which, for example, in 2023, made it possible to distribute more than 28 million euros thanks to the auction of real estate, cars, vans, boats, tractors and other assets seized from drug traffickers.
In this case, the 500 watches include, for example, an 18-carat gold IWC Schaffhausen which, according to the auction site, bids have so far reached 8,800 euros. This amount is the last bid, although it is expected to continue rising as there are still 10 days to go until the end of the auction. So far, the piece has attracted more than 130 bids. According to the watchmakers, this luxury timepiece could be worth several tens-of-thousands of euros. There are also three Rolex Submariners, whose last bids range between 4,600 and 5,050 euros; a Rolex Yacht, for 4,550 euros; a Cartier Panthére, for 3,600 euros; or a Breitling Geneve, for 1,050 euros.
At the other end of the scale there are more modest pieces such as a Tag Heuer with a last bid of 160 euros; a Hublot for 150 euros; a Longines for 50 euros or an Omega for 18, among many others in the collection.
All the watches began with very low starting prices, ranging from five euros for the cheapest to a maximum of 150 euros for the most valuable pieces. "We lower the price so that everyone can bid. The final price is set by the consumers, not by us," Azores said. "The watches are second-hand, but they are in good condition and there are very good brands," he added.
The most valuable watches form a single lot; for example you can bid only for that model without having to bid for several watches. Specifically, there are 68 lots of high-end watches, each lot consisting of a single watch. There are another 40 lots of medium and low-end watches are, in some cases, of a single unit, and in others include several units of similar watches.
Each lot to be auctioned has been previously valued by a company specialised in the jewellery and watchmaking sector, detailing its make and model, characteristics, functions and current condition.
Government officials have set a reserve price for most watches (although there are some that do not have one), which means that if that minimum price is not reached in the bidding, the piece is left unsold and will be retained by the government.
Registration for the online auction is required beforehand. The final price does not include the commission (17.3% of the final amount) or the management fees, which vary greatly depending on the watch, approximately between 10 and 450 euros.
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