I purchased an Omega Searacer watch from World of Watches in 2002. When I received the watch, it came with an original box and papers. The back of the watch had what I thought were the serial numbers. A friend recently asked to buy the watch and I gathered all the particulars and showed him the watch. He stated it had no serial numbers. The markings on the back are the model number. The next day I call World of Watches and asked about the missing serial number and the following was the reply.

Good day,

Your watch was purchased from the previous owners of the domain name Worldofwatches.com. The serial numbers were not recorded prior to them being removed.

I sent an email to Roi Mallach who I was told is the owner.

Hello Roi,

I have a watch I purchased from World of Watches back in 2002. Someone is interested in purchasing the watch however I'm told it should have a serial number below the model number. My watch does not.

An email from Charlene below has me concerned. I'm told the domain name was yours back in 2002. My biggest concern is why would the serial numbers be removed? (Pictures attached)

He replied and said he would get back with me shortly but never did. Instead I received the following from someone else.

Good day,

The item you purchased is known as a Gray Market item. The watches are authentic and are purchased from authorized retailers, and the serial number was removed to protect the authorized retailer. Unfortunately the serial numbers were not recorded and cannot be traced.

As previously explained the domain name WorldofWatches.com was purchased from the original owners in December 2006.

(1) Is this a common practice in the industry?
(2) Has anyone else had this experience with World of Watches?