A rose-gold luxury watch. A Louis Vuitton suitcase. A window fragment from the Titanic’s sister ship. Someone left every one of them behind in Madrid – most likely in the rush at the airport – and never came back. Now they are going under the hammer, and anyone can bid from the comfort of their sofa.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
Madrid City Council is auctioning off more than 5,600 items from its lost property office (Oficina de Objetos Perdidos): jewellery, watches, mobile phones, cameras, designer handbags, games consoles and collectors’ pieces. Bidding closes in a matter of days, so bargain hunters will need to move quickly.
What is being sold – and where it came from
Everything in the sale has sat in the city’s lost property office for more than two years without being claimed by its owner or by the person who found it. Once that deadline passes, ownership transfers to the council. Anything the municipal services cannot use, and which is still in good condition, is put up for public auction.
There is no shortage of supply. In 2025 alone, the office took in more than 78,000 items. Traditionally, the bulk of them come from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, alongside belongings left on buses, the metro and commuter trains, and items handed in by members of the public.
This year’s catalogue is unusually varied. Alongside rings and chains in gold, silver and pearl, there are designer bags, games consoles, drones, tablets and smartphones – many unused and still in their original boxes. There are also film cameras, Montblanc fountain pens, vinyl records, musical instruments, stamps, vintage golf clubs and decorative art. The proceeds go into the city council’s budget.
The star lots
The Piaget Altiplano. The headline item is a rose-gold Piaget Altiplano, valued at more than €5,100. Who lost a Swiss watch of that calibre, and why they never came looking for it, remains a mystery. It is joined by several MoonSwatch models from the much-coveted Omega x Swatch collaboration.
Luxury to go. A Louis Vuitton suitcase is valued at €1,300, and there are handbags from Celine and Gucci. A set of Bulgari rings is put at around €1,100. Jewellery from Hermès, Dior, Swarovski, Pandora and Tous is also on offer – as is a rather curious gold crown set with green and white stones.
A piece of Titanic history. Among the more unusual lots is a window fragment from RMS Olympic, the Titanic’s sister ship, complete with a certificate of authenticity and a handwritten letter. How it ended up in a Madrid lost property office, the council does not say.
For collectors and nostalgics. An original 1977 Star Wars poster is valued at €1,200. Photography enthusiasts will find a Nikkormat FT with a 50mm lens, a Canon Super 8 cine camera and a rare Yashica Dental-Eye II. Gamers can bid on special-edition Nintendo Switch consoles, including one in Zelda livery, or a PSP bundled with 13 games. And for lovers of the written word, there is a Hermès Baby typewriter.
How to bid – deadline Tuesday 13 October, 8pm
The auction is online only, on viasubasta.com, the platform run by Hermes Capital Europa, the auction house that valued, cleaned and photographed the items on the council’s behalf. Bidding closes on Tuesday 13 October at 8pm Spanish time.
- Create an account. Registration is free and, according to the platform, takes less than a minute: an email address, a password and an activation link. Make sure your details are accurate, as they will be used for the formal award of any lot you win.
- Choose your lot. Under “Subastas Ayto. Madrid” you will find every item with photos and a description, filterable by category – watches, gold, mobile phones, photography and so on.
- Pay a deposit. To bid on a lot, you must upload proof of a guarantee deposit. If you don’t win, the platform says the deposit is refunded in full within 48 working hours.
- Bid. Once your deposit is validated, you can bid in real time as often as you like.
- Pay and collect. After the hammer falls, the winning bid, fees and any applicable taxes become payable. The auction house then arranges collection or delivery.
Bear in mind: the in-person viewing at Calle de Nieremberg 7 ran from 5 to 7 October and is now over. Study the photos and descriptions carefully, and read the conditions for each lot before you bid.
Where the bidding stands: on Thursday, the highest bids included €695 for a Louis Vuitton handbag, €690 for a Celine bag and around €528 for a Gucci bag, while other designer pieces could still be had for €30 to €80. Expect prices to climb before Tuesday evening, though. At a previous Madrid lost property auction, the final total ended up roughly five times the sum of the starting prices – and a Rolex went for €4,750.
And if it’s your watch?
Which leaves the question: how does anyone forget a watch worth as much as a small car? The answer usually lies at the airport. At security, watches, rings and belts go into the grey plastic tray – and in the crush, things get left behind. Many travellers only notice once they are on the plane or back home, often in another country. And few realise that items lost in Madrid end up with the city council, which holds on to them for two years.
So if you have lost something in Madrid, contact the municipal lost property office directly – and the sooner the better. Once the two-year window has closed, there is no going back, and your watch could end up on a stranger’s wrist.
As for bargain hunters: there is still time until 8pm on Tuesday.
