The International Art and Antiques Loss Register joins Secured by Design

The Art Loss Register (ALR) is the world’s largest private database of lost and stolen art, antiques, jewellery and watches. The company was established in 1990 and has headquarters in London. Its founding shareholders are Lloyd’s of London and the leading global auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s, who remain major clients to this day. 

The ALR provides research and due diligence services to protect the art market from the sale of stolen property and its associated financial and reputational risks. It also provides recovery services to police forces, insurers and victims of theft worldwide to secure the return of missing property and assist criminal investigations. 

Since its foundation, the company has been responsible for the recovery of items totalling hundreds of millions of pounds. 

In 2014, the ALR launched The Watch Register. The Watch Register is the largest and most established international database of lost and stolen watches. The Watch Register contains data compiled over 30 years from police forces, insurance companies and theft victims globally. It provides specialist stolen watch recovery services, and pre-transaction serial number checks to pre-owned luxury watch traders and buyers. The Watch Register database is independent of any brands or retailers. 

You can find out more about The Art Loss Register here. 

You can find out more about The Watch Register here. 

All services are provided free of charge to law enforcement agencies worldwide. 

Katya Hills, Managing Director at The Watch Register said: “We are delighted to have secured this accreditation with Secured by Design and see it as a significant enhancement to our database and the service we provide to the watch trade globally who search our database prior to transaction to check if a watch is stolen.  We believe the increased sharing of police data that it brings will also lead to us recovering even more stolen watches, as well as jewellery, art and antiques, for owners who may have given up on ever seeing the return of their property.” 

Lyn Poole, Secured by Design, said: "I have known about The Art Loss Register for many years going back to when I was a young uniformed police officer back in the 1990s. So when I was approached by The Watch Register and found them to be connected I was thrilled to work with them to achieve SBD membership and bring not only The Watch Register but also The Art Loss Register on so they can now both use the Secured by Design Police Preferred Specification accreditation. It’s great to have them on board, I’m looking forward to working with them over the coming years".