CHENNAI: High-end, rare luxury watches costing up to Rs 2 crore, which are a collector’s delight, are a big draw among the rich and famous in Chennai and other metros like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. But fewer authorised dealers, limited choice of products, and 40% customs duty on such imported watches fuel smuggling from Hong Kong and Dubai, official sources said. Information sourced through RTI applications shows that rare watches of brands like Patek Philippe, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Rolex, Naviforce, Bvlgari, Astronomia Solar Zodiac from Jacob & Co, IWC Big Pilot, Franck Muller and Girard-Perregaux have been seized from passengers landing from abroad at airports like New Delhi and Mumbai in the last few years.
A Patek Philippe and a Breguet totally worth Rs 1.7 crore were seized by Chennai Customs from M F Mubeen, a suspected luxury watch dealer, on February 5 this year. The seizure later led to an Enforcement Directorate , who was allegedly the buyer.
Apple watches, though not as expensive, are also routinely seized by Customs, say sources. Luxury watch smuggling has its own distinct modus operandi, according to multiple sources in the grey market. The availability of these rare watches is shared by agents on closed WhatsApp or Telegram groups like Dubai watch exchange group, Watch home UK, US watch co, etc.
There are also Instagram pages which post pictures of these watches, some of which might also be ‘second-hand’, meaning previously owned, mostly by mult.
