What if the deceased owner considered the watch collection property of the business? Ie. he purchased the watches through business in order to keep the expenses hidden from his spouse? If the business partner is co-owner of the assets of the company, could he then claim ownership?
Just spitballing here…
What’s crazy to me is that person with obvious assets DIDN’T have an estate/will in place. Even if you don’t have significant assets, you should still seriously consider having a will.