Wearing your Rolex or Patek Philippe in Europe? Why you should be worried about London and Paris’ spikes in luxury watch theft
- Big cities in Europe and around the world have seen a wave of violent luxury watch robberies, with wealthy owners now reluctant to wear their timepieces
- Instagram-educated thieves target Rolex, Richard Mille and other watch brands. With sales on the line, brands are paying attention to this issue ‘of concern’
Brittany Pearce doesn’t wear her beloved Rolex Daytona any more. At least not in public.
The UK-based YouTuber, whose watch-focused channel has over 45,000 subscribers, put away her US$14,000 timepiece after an incident in which she was followed around a shop by a customer who had clearly “clocked” her watch. Pearce feared she was about to become another victim of luxury watch theft.
She’s not the only collector worried about unwanted – and potentially dangerous – attention. Reports of high-end watch robberies, many of them violent, are soaring in cities around the world. This threatens not only consumers, but also the roughly 100 blue-chip Swiss brands whose sales could take a hit if wearing one of their watches suddenly feels scary.
While there are no national statistics on watch theft, authorities in major cities have reported spikes. London’s Metropolitan Police Service launched an operation this summer to address the problem after the number of knifepoint robberies surged 60 per cent between May and June. In Paris, a police task force dedicated to stopping luxury watch theft has grown to 30 agents.
“This is a top priority for us, and we have already made a number of arrests,” said London Detective Chief Superintendent Owain Richards.