The watchmaker as compliance officer

Since 5 August 2026, every watch and jewellery business in France has had to verify the identity and the source of its customers’ funds as soon as a piece goes above 10,000 euros, card payments and bank transfers included, not just cash. A decree of April 2026 also requires individual training for every salesperson and apprentice who handles a payment, with a named record kept for five years. A sector long discreet about its cash transactions is moving into compliance obligations until now reserved for banks, under customs supervision. The Commission Nationale des Sanctions already fined one professional in the sector 240,000 euros in 2025.

Sources: French Monetary and Financial Code, article L.561-2, 11° (Légifrance)
decree no. 2026-310 of 24 April 2026 (Journal officiel)
Commission Nationale des Sanctions.