‘Looking the other way?’ Expensive Rolex watch mysteriously ‘disappears’ on its way to customer, Swiss Post denies theft

A Rolex watch worth 8,000 francs ($8,676) has mysteriously disappeared in Switzerland on its way to a customer by mail. The “watch fan” who bought it accuses the postal service of theft, but they insist the evidence is lacking.

A “watch fan” from the Swiss town of Sedrun spent almost $9,000 on an old Rolex watch at an online auction back in December 2020. Yet, the luxury watch first had to cross Switzerland to get to its new owner, since the previous one lived in the country’s west. 

The two apparently agreed that the best way to close the deal would be to send the expensive purchase by mail. Yet, despite being neatly packed in three nested locked boxes, the watch somehow did not make it. 

When the parcel eventually reached the supposed new owner, it turned out that there was no watch inside. All other contents, including a certificate, accessories and an authenticity seal were still there – and all the three boxes had been initially sealed. The angry customer then alerted the local police. 

He did not stop at that, and through a contact, managed to obtain some internal postal service documents relating to his parcel’s delivery log. The confidential documents suggested that the parcel mysteriously and suddenly became some 120 grams lighter halfway through its journey – exactly the weight of the watch. 

When the man reached out to the postal service, it alerted its internal security, which concluded there was no evidence of theft. “In this case, the specialists obtained statements from all departments involved, but could not find any irregularities,” it said – much to the dismay of the angry customer. 

“The watch was packed in three nested boxes and, in my opinion, could not just fall out like that. For me, that means that the package must have been opened by human hands, the boxes taken out, the watch removed from the watch cushion, everything packed up again and forwarded,” he told local media. The man accused the postal service of “actively looking the other way” even as there might be an employee who could be stealing other packages. 

Swiss Post said it referred the case to the police. Law enforcement confirmed to local media that an investigation was ongoing and provided no more details.

So far, the unlucky watch lover can only expect to get a reimbursement of 1,500 francs ($1,628) since his parcel was sent with regular insurance. Yet, even a premium option raising the reimbursement limit to 5,000 francs ($ 5,429) would not have covered the buyer’s losses. 

While generally reliable, Swiss Post was hit with a major scandal last year when it was revealed that a single post employee stole some 600 letters with cash inside at a processing logistics center in the town of Gossau. The scale of the crime was so large that it doubled the number of crimes recorded in the town over that year.

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