Traveling with your Rolex - Customs declarations

[Aboutderntime]

I’ll be traveling from the United States to France in the near future and hope to bring one of my favorite watches. At this point, I’m leaning towards my yacht master 226659 or my VC overseas. I’m wondering if anyone has had experience with customs while traveling with a watch valued over $10,000. Unfortunately, I don’t have a receipt, but I do have a registration card. Any tips for this process or things I should consider before hopping on the plane? Of course, the watches are both insured.

[kieselguhr]

Do your research and make your own decision based on risk evaluation whether to bring or not.

Customs will be a non issue. The local crime rate in whatever areas you’re planning to visit however may be.

[BriansRolex]

I've traveled to other countries with my PM watches and never had any issues or even been asked about them they've always just asked if I was carrying over $10k in actual cash

[Aboutderntime]

Originally Posted by BriansRolex

I've traveled to other countries with my PM watches and never had any issues or even been asked about them they've always just asked if I was carrying over $10k in actual cash

Ok - that is helpful. Been looking for the actual form but can’t seem to find it.

[AF_Rob]

I knew there was a form out there somewhere. This is what I found. Hope it helps. Though, like others, I've never been asked when coming back into the US.

Form 4457 Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad.

[Aboutderntime]

Originally Posted by AF_Rob

I knew there was a form out there somewhere. This is what I found. Hope it helps. Though, like others, I've never been asked when coming back into the US.

Form 4457 Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad.

Would you think my main issue would be the return from France or customs in France?

[Bartolo]

Originally Posted by Aboutderntime

Would you think my main issue would be the return from France or customs in France?

I cant recall ever being asked about "stuff" I might be bringing into France as a tourist. If you say you're there "on business" you may well get asked what goods you're bringing in with you.

[Guppydriver]

I have a timestamped pic of me with all my watches and cards on my phone. I don’t travel with PM pieces, but I’ve never been asked by anyone about my 126710BLNR. If I did , I’d have a million pics to show them of me wearing it.

As long as you don’t have the box in your luggage, you will be fine even if you were randomly selected by customs.

[Aboutderntime]

Originally Posted by Guppydriver

I have a timestamped pic of me with all my watches and cards on my phone. I don’t travel with PM pieces, but I’ve never been asked by anyone about my 126710BLNR. If I did , I’d have a million pics to show them of me wearing it.

As long as you don’t have the box in your luggage, you will be fine even if you were randomly selected by customs.

Good tip - thank you.

[phobby]

Nobody cares about your BLNR, especially customs that sees 500 a day. it’s more common than the new iPhone at certain times of the year.

[fsprow]

Originally Posted by Aboutderntime

Would you think my main issue would be the return from France or customs in France?

Originally Posted by AF_Rob

I knew there was a form out there somewhere. This is what I found. Hope it helps. Though, like others, I've never been asked when coming back into the US.

Form 4457 Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad.

This is indeed the form. I travel internationally all the time and have needed to use it only twice. One obtains the form at a customs office associated with a major airport here in the US. The agent there will check the serial number, put it on the form and sign it. May not ever be needed, but if it is, this is the way to avoid any problem.

[AF_Rob]

Originally Posted by fsprow

This is indeed the form. I travel internationally all the time and have needed to use it only twice. One obtains the form at a customs office associated with a major airport here in the US. The agent there will check the serial number, put it on the form and sign it. May not ever be needed, but if it is, this is the way to avoid any problem.

Assuming this would satisfy the OP's concerns at both ends of his travel.

OP, I think you have nothing to worry about. If you had a second watch in your carry on, MAYBE. You should be good.

[brandrea]

I travel with digital copies of my original sales receipt, warranty card and many pictures of the watch I’m wearing

[Guppydriver]

Originally Posted by phobby

Nobody cares about your BLNR, especially customs that sees 500 a day. it’s more common than the new iPhone at certain times of the year.

Wasn’t really the point of post, I was just offering up my technique to mitigate potential (and unlikely) customs auditing. Thanks for your solid contribution though.

[Tools]

I've traveled the world with two Rolex or other high-end watches, one on my wrist and the other in a single watch roll in my carryon. I have never been asked by customs anything about either watch.

Customs is for import/export, not wearing or using. If you want peace of mind, sure, fill out a form that declares them and where you got them, there isn't any cost.

The 10k declaration is for cash or cash instruments not for how much your watch is worth.

Now, don't plan on leaving, buying or selling those, or other watches.... that's commerce and import duties apply.

[csaltphoto]

No one cares about one or a couple of used watches. If you had a suitcase full of new ones that's a different story. The only time I was ever asked was when I bringing in very expensive camera equipment (100K+). But they never checked on the way out...

[daveeblows]

Never hD an issue , I'm travelling with at least one watxh internationally often. On the other hand- Has anyone travelled with gold Oz coins tho? Do You need to fill some sort of paperwork going throughout customs carrying Gold ?


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[dmash]

You guys can comment all you want about it never happening to you, but if you travel extensively enough like myself and others, it will eventually happen. It's a non-issue if you declare with the form ahead of time as mentioned above, or you can showcase proof of import duty already being paid, or the original point of sale being in the USA. but if you don't have this proof, ALTHOUGH A MINUSCULE CHANCE, you 100% can be charged import duty on your timepiece.

It's really bad advice when this thread pops up every couple months and people try to say 'it's all good, who cares, just travel'. No, no it's not guaranteed to be good. I've seen many customs agents having bad days and WILL grill you on everything you brought back in, even with a fully stamped passport, Global Entry, no matter the circumstance. and you have expensive assets on your body/in your suitcase, be prepared to show proof or pay duty.

On the flip side, entering the country as a tourist, this is usually a non-issue. Although AGAIN, you can be questioned. For example, in Germany one time, I was asked to literally open my suitcase as my MacBook Pro and iPhone in my backpack looked brand new (as they were, I had just bought them the week before to upgrade). Zoll/Customs wanted to make sure I didn't have the original boxes in my suitcase, with intentions of bringing into Germany and re-selling for maybe a 10-20% profit. This was when I was strictly using my Schengen and not living there, and only had one suitcase, looked incredibly normal and in my 20s.

[dmash]

Originally Posted by daveeblows

Never hD an issue , I'm travelling with at least one watxh internationally often. On the other hand- Has anyone travelled with gold Oz coins tho? Do You need to fill some sort of paperwork going throughout customs carrying Gold ?


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in a lot of countries, gold is considered the same as currency or close to it. you have to disclose over a certain amount, 100%.

[rom33]

Agree with dmash.
Upon arriving at SFO I apparently interrupted a female agent’s coffee break.

I asked to pay the tax.
She emptied the luggage. Tearing apart LV wrapped gifts.
She actually told me she had been on a break. The area was empty!
She incorrectly added up the tax and merely walked away.

Thankfully I was refunded the incorrect tax after asking my local Congressman to straighten it out.
You just never know.

[inadeje]

@dmash, while you're technically correct that incidents like these can happen—and real-world examples likely exist—the purpose of public forums like this is to gather a broad range of opinions so the original poster can make an informed decision.

If a customs officer decides to take a closer look at you for any reason—whether they're having a bad day, genuinely see something suspicious, or you've been pre-selected by surveillance—they’ll often latch onto anything to justify further inspection. It could be the watch on your wrist, the smell of alcohol, or a host of other factors, including random misidentification. Whatever the reason, once you're flagged for secondary inspection, you’re in it whether you like it or not. How you respond—whether with indignation, cheerful cooperation, or setting boundaries—will significantly impact how things unfold.

Like many here, I can only share my personal experience. I’ve traveled extensively for decades, usually with a valuable timepiece on my wrist and sometimes carrying several more in my hand luggage. Over the years, I’ve been stopped and searched at various points—security, immigration, customs—and subjected to everything from bag swabs to random checks. Once, the spectrometer flagged my laptop mousepad as suspicious, leading to a 30-minute secondary exam, only for me to learn that everyday substances like glycerin can trigger false positives. During this extensive interrogation was there discussion about the +60k watch on my wrist? No.

Despite all this, I’ve never been questioned about the watch on my wrist or the others in my watch roll, even when traveling to destinations I believe the OP is referring to—likely Nice Cote d'Azur Airport (NCE), where I’ve flown into for decades. Not once have I been asked about my watches at this specific airport or any other. Sure, I’ve been asked about other items—a boxed Alpine CD player in the '90s, new Apple products—but once I explained their purpose, I was always waved through.

So, while it’s possible that you could be questioned and potentially taxed on valuables, I’ve never found it to be a real-world obstacle when traveling with a few watches.

That said, since 2020, with the unfortunate surge in watch-related crime and all the stories we keep hearing, I do tend to wear a "beater" watch in certain destinations like Barcelona or London. But I still bring a nicer watch for more controlled environments—although that’s a topic for another thread.

I hope my perspective, long-winded as it may be, is helpful.