Selling jewelry or a watch worth more than €10,000: the jeweler's obligations

Since the August 1, 2026, The AML-CFT regulations directly target professionals who regularly or mainly work in watchmaking, jewelry, fine jewelry or goldsmithing when they sell goods worth more than €10,000.

In practical terms, what should a salesperson do when a customer wants to buy a €12,000 watch, a €20,000 piece of jewelry, or a €50,000 piece of fine jewelry?

The issue is no longer limited to cash payments. The method of payment (bank card, transfer, or other) is not sufficient to exempt oneself from AML/CFT obligations.

The essentials in 30 seconds

• Since the August 1, 2026, the sale of an HBJO property over €10,000 triggers AML/CFT obligations.
• The threshold applies regardless of the payment method, including card or bank transfer.
• There vigilance It adapts to the client and the operation; it is not limited to scanning an identity document.
• Beware of fractional operations and, in case of suspicion, to the declaration to TRACFIN.

Why the €10,000 threshold is important

Since August 1, 2026, Article L. 561-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code includes among the professionals subject to AML-CFT those persons regularly or primarily engaged in the watchmaking, jewelry, gem-making or goldsmithing sectors when the value of the goods exceeds €10,000.

This is therefore a significant change for shops that sell valuable watches and jewelry.

Before this development, many professionals primarily associated AML/CFT with large cash transactions. This reasoning is no longer sufficient.

For an overview of the professionals involved and the timeline, see our article. AML/CFT: What are the obligations for professionals in the watchmaking and jewelry industry?

Example: a watch sold for €14,500

A customer wishes to purchase a watch worth €14,500 and pay by bank transfer.

The fact that the payment comes from a French bank does not exempt the professional from their AML/CFT obligations.

The professional must, in particular, determine the appropriate level of vigilance based on the client, the operation and any potential risk factors.

Information to be collected

Depending on the situation and the level of risk, vigilance may involve collecting and verifying:

• the client's identity; ;
• his address and certain information that allows us to identify him; ;
• the beneficial owner when a company makes the purchase; ;
• the possible existence of a politically exposed person (PEP) status; ;
• the presence of the client or beneficiary on a sanctions or asset freeze list; ;
• the country of residence and any links with a jurisdiction presenting a particular risk; ;
• Information on the origin of funds is required when the risk justifies it.

The intensity of these controls must be adapted to the risk presented by the operation. Details of the due diligence measures are provided in our dedicated guide: AML/CFT: Due Diligence Obligations in Detail.

Beware of split transactions

Another point deserves particular attention: several operations that appear to be linked should not be artificially analyzed in isolation.

For example, the splitting of a transaction or unusual payments may be elements to examine in the risk analysis.

The objective of the regulation is precisely to prevent a threshold from being circumvented by an artificial succession of operations.

Is an identity document sufficient?

No. AML/CFT compliance is not simply about scanning an ID card.

The professional must be able to demonstrate that they have analyzed the risk presented by the client and by the transaction and that they have applied the appropriate due diligence measures.

Depending on the circumstances, further checks may therefore be necessary.

What if something seems abnormal?

Certain situations require further analysis:

• customer's refusal to provide the requested information; ;
• payment from a third party without clear explanation; ;
• unnecessarily complex assembly; ;
• inconsistency between the customer profile and the transaction; ;
• origin of the funds difficult to explain; ;
• links with a country presenting a high risk; ;
• unusual attempts at splitting.

A single indicator does not necessarily mean that a transaction is fraudulent.

However, when a professional suspects that funds may originate from an offense or be involved in money laundering or terrorist financing, the rules regarding suspicious activity reports to TRACFIN may apply. See AML/CFT: Reporting suspicious activity to TRACFIN.

The software can help secure the process

For a jewelry or watchmaking business, manually performing these checks for each relevant operation quickly becomes complex.

Business software can automatically trigger appropriate checks based on the transaction amount and keep track of the checks performed.

In Jewely HBJO, the integration of partner solutions makes it possible to support professionals in their AML/CFT controls directly from their management environment.

The objective is not only to carry out a check, but also to be able to demonstrate later that it was indeed carried out.

What will change again in 2027

European regulations will continue to harmonize the rules.

European regulation 2024/1624 on combating money laundering will become applicable from July 10, 2027.

It expressly defines as high-value goods jewelry, jewelry and goldsmithing items worth more than €10,000, as well as watches and clocks exceeding this amount.

HBJO professionals therefore have an interest in putting in place procedures now to integrate these controls into the sales process.

Sources: Monetary and Financial Code, in particular Article L. 561-2; Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. This article presents the main applicable rules for informational purposes. AML/CFT regulations also rely on a risk assessment specific to each situation.