P086. PRICELESS Watches: Vulnerabilities to Subversive Crime in the Luxury Watch Sector

• In Event: Poster Session & Ice Cream Social

Abstract

Luxury goods—such as watches, handbags, cars, jewellery, and art—are highly sought after. Interestingly, certain goods are frequently found in relation to or in the vicinity of crime. These goods, as well as their use by criminals, differ depending on the specific purpose. Luxury watches possess inherent qualities that make them particularly attractive for committing or facilitating crimes. Moreover, their value can be manipulated to serve illicit purposes. These qualities enable criminal actors to use watches in a variety of ways, from money laundering to tax evasion, as a means of payment or transfer, and bribery.
While the inherent qualities of watches are visible, the specific methods through which criminal actors exploit this sector remain in the dark. This project seeks to shed light on the relation between luxury watches and subversive crime by investigating the structure and culture of the watch sector from the perspective of economic criminology. To achieve this objective, this project will gather data on the functioning of the sector in order to identify vulnerabilities for illicit activities undermining the sector’s licit structures.
This PhD research project adopts a situational approach, focusing on the structure and culture of the licit sector and identifying its vulnerabilities to subversive crime. The core of this project is a micro-level analysis of business processes in the luxury watch sector. Currently, the project is at the data collection stage, conducting qualitative interviews with relevant actors and stakeholders. Based on the data generated, collected, and analysed in this project, existing vulnerabilities to subversive crime in the luxury watch sector can be identified and awareness for the criminal exploitation of the sector can be raised. At EUROCRIM 2025, I will present the goal and structure of my project, the current status including preliminary findings, and the future plan.

Author

• Konstantin Jänicke, Maastricht University, PRICELESS