The Breitling Watch Source Forums

When traveling with your watch(s)... I was told it is a smart idea to bring receipts with you, is this true?

For example, If I were to travel to St. Lucia with my watch's for a vacation, while returning if customs notices a watch in my carry-on and I don't have a receipt showing that is was indeed purchased in the US. I could have some issues and it may pose a problem.

Anyone have experience with this?

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

Yes, you should bring the box and paperwork also. You can never be too careful.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

I've heard it is best to take a photo of you holding the watch in front of your house and bring that along.

or just put it on your wrist.

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SHARKMAN

Yes sir this is correct, take either a copy of your insurance policy, receipts, or appraisals....all of which can validate that the pieces originated in the states prior to travel. One other thing you can do is also register any items with the US Customs Department prior to traveling. I carry a folder with copies of my receipts and appraisals to prove they were not purchased abroad and fortunately I've not had any issues. Below is an excerpt I got off the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website regarding this subject.


Tip: Register Items Before You Leave The United States
(08/21/2009)

If your laptop computer was made in Japan—for instance—you might have to pay duty on it each time you bring it back into the United States, unless you could prove that you owned it before you left on your trip. Documents that fully describe the item—such as sales receipts, insurance policies, or jeweler's appraisals—are acceptable forms of proof.

To make things easier, you can register certain items with CBP before you depart— including watches, cameras, laptop computers, firearms, and CD players—as long as they have serial numbers or other unique, permanent markings. Take the items to the nearest CBP office and request a Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad (CBP Form 4457). It shows that you had the items with you before leaving the United States and all items listed on it will be allowed duty-free entry. CBP officers must see the item you are registering in order to certify the certificate of registration. You can also register items with CBP at the international airport from which you’re departing. Keep the certificate for future trips.

Reference: http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/register_items.xml

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Ive never done that and ive never had a problem. If youve got only one watch with you, receipts definitely sound like overkill, especially if its on your wrist.

Having said that, I have a funny story from a year or two ago when traveling to Canada.
I was alone, so they singled me out to search my luggage. I was wearing a Skyland, and the officer asked me about it. I told him that I bought it in LA. He asked me how much it cost etc. He didnt seem to believe me, but whatever... So he takes my laptop, turns it on, and starts looking through my files. Im not sure how legal that is, but I didnt want to rock the boat. Whats on here? my files. Any pornography? Probably. While in there, he finds the breitlingsource pricelist. He gets all excited and starts questioning me about why I have it. I explain what it is. Again, he doesnt seem to believe me. Eventually he doesnt find anything else and says im free to go. Being inquisitive, I ask him why he was making such a big deal out of it. He admitted to me that he thought I was smuggling watches across the border and that the pricelist was some kind of database of my prices and customers lol..

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-RJ

Good story and thanks for sharing! I would be traveling with two watches so I will definatley hold onto the receipts!

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

I travel out of the country frequently. Never had a single issue with watches, jewelry, designer items, or computers, either brought or bought. In fact I often purchase things while there, fill out the duty free forms, present them at customs, show the items purchased, and the receipts, along with your passport, get a customs stamp, at the airport, all in the country of origin. Proceed to the duty free stations, also in the airport of origin, submit the paperwork for a refund, get on the plane and go home. When arriving back in the States, fill out a customs form, write down the purchases in generic fashion, (jewelry, hand bag, shirts, etc., failure to declare may result in forfeiture) along with the approximate amount, (discounted, maximum personal exemption is $800), pass through customs and go on your merry way. I've been traveling abroad for almost twenty years, been to some not so popular places, as well as tourist hot spots, and I've been singled out for additional bag screening 2 or 3 times, in all that time, without issue. Nowadays, US Customs and Homeland Security have their hands full with bigger issues. Do you really think they are looking for a guy that bought a watch duty free so they can collect a hundred bucks? God I hope not! The biggest issue I've ever had, in fact, was also Canada. I travel out to Edmonton half a dozen times a year and have been singled out for extra scrutiny a few times. Not for customs declaration issues but for immigration issues. As a result of the oil boom up there, foreign workers try to get into the country to work without the proper clearances. I often have to prove I'm there on approved business, with a short duration stay and they let me pass.

(disclaimer)
Hopefully I haven't cursed myself and anyone taking my advice does so at their own peril.

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Breitling Aerospace
Breitling Chronomat Evolution
Breitling Bentley GMT Midnight Carbon LE
Corum Admiral's Cup Black Flag LE
Rolex Datejust
Tag Heuer Aquaracer
IWC Portuguese Automatic 7 day
VIP Time Italy ref-15043
Glashutte Original Panoinverse XL

I agree it may seem overkill and that the CBP has their hands full with bigger fish to fry, but I try to avoid dealing with "Murphy's Law" as much as possible. My situation is a tad different as I work in Iraq and don't go back home but about every 6 months or so. I have a number of watches that roll with me when I make the journey to and fro. The last thing I want to deal with is being hassled coming back home.

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Good to know and yes, I agree with much you stated!
I will be on my honeymoon this coming September in St. Lucia and I wanted to bring my (soon to arrive) Navi World along with my CE. (I figured I would have a "day watch" and a nice "night watch")I wanted to see everyones thoughts on this before I did something wrong. This also got me thinking...when bringing multiple watches, do you tend to wear the more expensive one on your wrist?

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

You come up with some crazy odd questions. I never bring more than the watch on my wrist when traveling. I don't care where I'm going, one watch and one watch ONLY for me...and price doesn't factor into my decision which to bring.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

I just check through my full 12 watch winder at the luggage counter. What could possibly go wrong?

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SHARKMAN

Then don't download the breitling source price list to your hard drive!

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SHARKMAN

I agree with Sergio...unless I was taking an extremely long trip then I would just pick one watch to take with me. You can always take additional straps/bracelets for it to change it up. It just isn't worth the extra effort to take multiple watches IMO.

If you are Sharkman then you take one watch with you, and probably buy an additional 1 or 2 while you are on the trip.