its only worth time if the mov. does hav serial number as the case. otherwise especially with heuer and breitling everything is 100 percent interchangeable....

It's by no means a waste of time, it's your best way of proving
: ownership. As a street crime, this is likely to have been a
: crime of opportunity, whereas your example of the Panerai was
: someone targeted leaving a watch fair - in the former example,
: the culprit is unlikely to have access to cases to exchange. And
: the earlier the watch can be caught "downstream", the
: more likely the serial number is to be intact.

: A watch's serial number is more like a car's chassis/engine number
: than it's registration plate; eventually it may be exchanged,
: but if it can be found soon after the theft, having the
: information to hand will make identifying it as your watch
: easier. Some insurers will let you register serial numbers of
: specific items as part of your household contents insurance,
: which could be worth doing if watches are kept at home.

: It's all about giving yourself the best chance of recovering the
: item. Yes, of course it's not foolproof, but it's not a waste of
: time at all either.