SINGAPORE - The recent seizure of some $30,000 worth of watches owned by Singapore-listed Watches.com indirect subsidiary, CKLY Trading Limited (CTL), comprises timepieces from prominent brands Michael Kors and Armani.

The 500 watches involved were also reported by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (C&E) to have an estimated market value of HK$600,000 (S$107,400). Watches.com said the earlier $30,000 was derived from the book value of the watches.

The value of the watches would be much higher if it was derived based on retail price, said Watches.com in a bourse filing on Wednesday night.

While the watches were earlier seized over suspicion that they were fake in contravention of certain provisions in the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, both Incredible Holdings and Watches.com reiterated that it was CTL's "clear and firm belief that the watches seized are real and genuine, and nothing in the circumstances aroused suspicions and/or placed the company on notice that the watches were not genuine".

CTL is also an indirect associate of electronics distributor Incredible Holdings.

According to the report by Hong Kong's C&E, a 38-year-old male director and a 28-year-old female shopkeeper were arrested. The two are said to be out on bail. The male director is understood to be Mr Christian Heilesen, while the female staff member was not identified due to "data protection principles".

Both Incredible Holdings and Watches.com said invoices and relevant supporting documents in relation to the purchase of the seized watches have been provided to the Hong Kong legal team to prepare a case to get back the watches and to dismiss the investigation.

Shares of Watches.com closed down 8.3 per cent or 0.1 cent at 1.1 cent on Wednesday, while Incredible Holdings ended the trading day flat at 0.2 cent. THE BUSINESS TIMES