Another watch theft article - NYT

[messikens]

Stay safe people... As folks generally say "opportunity makes thieves".

Good reminder that being mindful of your surroundings, not flexing and insurance coverage are best things to do while enjoying our timepieces

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/05/n...e=articleShare

[huncho]

article has a paywall so can't read it but whenever this happens i always assume there are spotters at these restaurants tipping off the gangs

regardless it's obvious nyc isn't in a great place right now and you can get away with almost anything

[justdate]

Personally I think it’s smart to avoid all rolex, Royal Oak and nautilus for use in riskier areas.

VC overseas good option, or any dress patek is a great option too.

But that’s just me preferring to minimise risk, a lot of people just go with whatever.

[In-N-Out]

No one should be wearing a watch without a CCW in America these days

[messikens]

Originally Posted by huncho

article has a paywall so can't read it but whenever this happens i always assume there are spotters at these restaurants tipping off the gangs

regardless it's obvious nyc isn't in a great place right now and you can get away with almost anything

I'll copy it in here but I agree... Very much sounds like there are spotters... Simply no way to just be held up inside a restaurant if that's not the case

[messikens]

Not 10 minutes into date night, Gabe Thomas and his girlfriend, Shirley Yu, found themselves crouched under their table at Birds of a Feather, a sleek Chinese restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where a plate of pea shoots costs $21.

Just 20 feet away, a man wearing a mask brandished a gun in the crowded dining room and with a henchman grabbed two phones and a watch from three men at a table near the front door.

Diners dashed into the kitchen. Chairs toppled. Glasses shattered. A cacophony of screams filled the room.

The perpetrators quick-walked out and fled on a moped, leaving behind a half-empty dining room where a handful of unfired bullets had fallen to the floor. The stickup took less than 40 seconds.

The robbery in the heart of Williamsburg — a once-bohemian enclave in North Brooklyn now home to designer clothing stores and glassy towers — alarmed and unsettled both foodies and residents. And it was just one in a string of similar robberies in and around some of Brooklyn’s and Lower Manhattan’s most in-vogue establishments in the past month. In each case, the perpetrators have swiped luxury watches from diners, according to the police, including, in one episode, a timepiece worth $100,000.

Such crimes are unusual in the affluent neighborhoods that have been targeted, rare incursions of the city’s troubles into its glittering play spots. And they have lit up message boards, receiving the kind of outsize attention — and outrage — that everyday crimes in New York’s poorer neighborhoods often do not. The thefts have propelled persistent grousing that the city is slipping into lawlessness, a perception that no recitation of contrary statistics has dispelled.

The robberies follow the same pattern: Two men, one carrying a gun, steal belongings from restaurant patrons before fleeing, often via moped or dirt bike, according to interviews and surveillance footage. Most of the robberies have happened between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and have targeted restaurants that attract celebrities and Brooklyn’s young creative types.

Marlow and Sons, an oyster bar just 10 minutes from Birds of a Feather, was hit in the early evening on May 31. A man approached a 38-year-old man and a 40-year-old man outside the restaurant with a gun and demanded their watches, the police said. He took a Rolex and an Audemars Piguet, worth $40,000 collectively, before fleeing on a “two-wheeled vehicle” with another person, the authorities said.

About three weeks later, a similar heist was reported outside Carbone, an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village with a dress code — “any guest who does not appear sufficiently well-presented may be refused entry” — and an exclusive reservation list. There, two men robbed a 39-year-old man of his $100,000 Patek Philippe watch at gunpoint, the police said.

The theft at Birds of a Feather took place three days later, the only one of the recent robberies to occur inside a dining room. Then, late last Thursday, the police said that two people riding a moped and carrying a gun stole a watch and a purse from a 29-year-old man and 32-year-old woman on the corner of Manhattan and Norman Avenues in Greenpoint, a Brooklyn neighborhood just north of Williamsburg. The pair was en route from Twins Lounge, a popular spot nearby, to another cocktail bar down the street, according to Greenpointers, a local news website.

[huncho]

Originally Posted by justdate

Personally I think it’s smart to avoid all rolex, Royal Oak and nautilus for use in riskier areas.

VC overseas good option, or any dress patek is a great option too.

But that’s just me preferring to minimise risk, a lot of people just go with whatever.

Williamsburg is one of the safest and richest neighborhoods in brooklyn and nyc, so it doesn't really have anything to do with risky areas at this point (unless you meant areas as in cities). even in manhattan there's really no such thing as bad neighborhoods like you have in traditional cities so these thefts aren't happening in shady pockets deep out in the outer boroughs/sketchy neighborhoods. they're just doing it in broad day on mopeds in the most populated and rich areas in america

these days it seems like the solution really is to just wear long sleeves in cities like these

[johnsonsxusfrt]

Originally Posted by In-N-Out

No one should be wearing a watch without a CCW in America these days

:)

[saltyandwet]

Originally Posted by huncho

Williamsburg is one of the safest and richest neighborhoods in brooklyn and nyc, so it doesn't really have anything to do with risky areas at this point (unless you meant areas as in cities). even in manhattan there's really no such thing as bad neighborhoods like you have in traditional cities so these thefts aren't happening in shady pockets deep out in the outer boroughs/sketchy neighborhoods. they're just doing it in broad day on mopeds in the most populated and rich areas in america

these days it seems like the solution really is to just wear long sleeves in cities like these

Rich neighborhood doesn't necessarily mean safe neighborhood. You don't steal or rob from the poor. What would they have that you'd want? Nothing.
Do you think poor people are going to be wearing Rolexes or APs? If you are going to wear long sleeve, how about just not wearing a watch?

[huncho]

Originally Posted by saltyandwet

Rich neighborhood doesn't necessarily mean safe neighborhood. You don't steal or rob from the poor. What would they have that you'd want? Nothing.
Do you think poor people are going to be wearing Rolexes or APs? If you are going to wear long sleeve, how about just not wearing a watch?

my point was directed at the "risky areas" part. i realize that it doesn't matter what neighborhood you're in

[strettyend]

Pretty brazen to just do it in the dining room

[2000-NJDEVILS]

Tren De Aragua strikes again. And again. And again. And again……..
They always work in pairs and with real guns. They’re already in gangs and in the US illegally- so they could care less about our laws!!!
Smarten up people - Make sure every watch and valuable jewelry you own is insured - and for crying out loud, Do not wear any flashy watches and expect criminals not to notice!!

[Andad]

Originally Posted by In-N-Out

No one should be wearing a watch without a CCW in America these days

I have watched the ok corral?

In this scenario the outcome could be very different.

[Moondoggy]

Originally Posted by In-N-Out

No one should be wearing a watch without a CCW in America these days

You know, as much as it is against my thought process, part of me agrees.

[brandrea]

Glad no one was physically hurt.

[stark1]

Originally Posted by huncho

article has a paywall so can't read it but whenever this happens i always assume there are spotters at these restaurants tipping off the gangs

regardless it's obvious nyc isn't in a great place right now and you can get away with almost anything

I witnessed a BestBuy shoplifter get chased down 5th yesterday. Robbery was unsuccessful as he had to give up the goods after getting caught in less than a block, so I guess you can't get away with anything, hah.

IMO, the city feels safe - at least in areas that I go - and I likely wouldn't have thought twice about wearing an AP to that restaurant. Just bad luck.

[Uros]

Wearing my 15 years old Panerai when traveling. Would be crazy to take AP or similar and put target on yourself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[justdate]

Originally Posted by huncho

Williamsburg is one of the safest and richest neighborhoods in brooklyn and nyc, so it doesn't really have anything to do with risky areas at this point (unless you meant areas as in cities). even in manhattan there's really no such thing as bad neighborhoods like you have in traditional cities so these thefts aren't happening in shady pockets deep out in the outer boroughs/sketchy neighborhoods. they're just doing it in broad day on mopeds in the most populated and rich areas in america

these days it seems like the solution really is to just wear long sleeves in cities like these

Unfortunately big cities are a risky place, prime hunting ground for watch thieves. I wear a VC Patrimony in London / NYC / etc, as it’s a watch I love to wear but is discreet will almost certainly never get recognised.

[Reign]

NYC quickly going the way of London.

That said, it’s a very bourgeois piece, $21 pea shoots, $80k watch stolen but not single description of the thieves.

I think what’s even more disturbing is the comments where people are saying eat the rich, the fact of the matter is cops need to come down heavy on this and won’t because of local politics. We all deserve to be safe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[APhound]

Originally Posted by In-N-Out

No one should be wearing a watch without a CCW in America these days

Am I really going to pull a gun out and shoot someone over a watch? Probably with my wife and son? It’s not worth it. I think about this a lot. Even if someone broke into my house I really don’t think I’d go that route. I’d rather lose my watches than get into a shoot out at home or anywhere.
A year ago I would have completely agreed with you but I don’t know anymore. I hope I’m never in that situation!


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[TopherMins]

I had an offshore taken off my wrist in Barcelona in 2018. I was walking alone, one large man grabbed my arm and another came from behind and put his hands on my shoulders. I took the watch off myself and handed it to them. They walked away, didn’t even run. Not worth the fight, everyone.


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[S’portEye]

Originally Posted by APhound

Am I really going to pull a gun out and shoot someone over a watch? Probably with my wife and son? It’s not worth it. I think about this a lot. Even if someone broke into my house I really don’t think I’d go that route. I’d rather lose my watches than get into a shoot out at home or anywhere.
A year ago I would have completely agreed with you but I don’t know anymore. I hope I’m never in that situation!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s not about a watch. It’s about personal safety when someone comes in with a gun. The only thing that stops a person with a gun is another person with a gun.

[In-N-Out]

Originally Posted by APhound

Am I really going to pull a gun out and shoot someone over a watch? Probably with my wife and son? It’s not worth it. I think about this a lot. Even if someone broke into my house I really don’t think I’d go that route. I’d rather lose my watches than get into a shoot out at home or anywhere.
A year ago I would have completely agreed with you but I don’t know anymore. I hope I’m never in that situation!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What some people don’t understand about CCWs…is that people don’t carry these guns to kill, they carry to protect their own lives and their family’s lives.

If someone is robbing me with a gun to my head, obviously I let him take the watch. If he already turned his back, legally I’m not allowed to shoot him bc the threat is arguably gone (in CA and I assume in NY).

But if I’m walking in a sidewalk and I see a threat approaching, give out verbal warnings, and if the threat remains. I’m pulling out the CCW to eliminate the threat. That’s to protect my life, not my watch.

[brandrea]

Ibtl

[Moondoggy]

^^^^^

[mickyd329]

Originally Posted by In-N-Out

What some people don’t understand about CCWs…is that people don’t carry these guns to kill, they carry to protect their own lives and their family’s lives.

If someone is robbing me with a gun to my head, obviously I let him take the watch. If he already turned his back, legally I’m not allowed to shoot him bc the threat is arguably gone (in CA and I assume in NY).

But if I’m walking in a sidewalk and I see a threat approaching, give out verbal warnings, and if the threat remains. I’m pulling out the CCW to eliminate the threat. That’s to protect my life, not my watch.

[chalkflewup]

Damn. We've dined there a few times with our daughter who lives in the area. It's a very crowded place tight quarters, so they either were spotted outside on the sidewalk, or an inside spotter. I'm guessing spotted outside based on what I know of the staff.

Originally Posted by messikens

Not 10 minutes into date night, Gabe Thomas and his girlfriend, Shirley Yu, found themselves crouched under their table at Birds of a Feather, a sleek Chinese restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where a plate of pea shoots costs $21.

Just 20 feet away, a man wearing a mask brandished a gun in the crowded dining room and with a henchman grabbed two phones and a watch from three men at a table near the front door.

Diners dashed into the kitchen. Chairs toppled. Glasses shattered. A cacophony of screams filled the room.

The perpetrators quick-walked out and fled on a moped, leaving behind a half-empty dining room where a handful of unfired bullets had fallen to the floor. The stickup took less than 40 seconds.

The robbery in the heart of Williamsburg — a once-bohemian enclave in North Brooklyn now home to designer clothing stores and glassy towers — alarmed and unsettled both foodies and residents. And it was just one in a string of similar robberies in and around some of Brooklyn’s and Lower Manhattan’s most in-vogue establishments in the past month. In each case, the perpetrators have swiped luxury watches from diners, according to the police, including, in one episode, a timepiece worth $100,000.

Such crimes are unusual in the affluent neighborhoods that have been targeted, rare incursions of the city’s troubles into its glittering play spots. And they have lit up message boards, receiving the kind of outsize attention — and outrage — that everyday crimes in New York’s poorer neighborhoods often do not. The thefts have propelled persistent grousing that the city is slipping into lawlessness, a perception that no recitation of contrary statistics has dispelled.

The robberies follow the same pattern: Two men, one carrying a gun, steal belongings from restaurant patrons before fleeing, often via moped or dirt bike, according to interviews and surveillance footage. Most of the robberies have happened between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and have targeted restaurants that attract celebrities and Brooklyn’s young creative types.

Marlow and Sons, an oyster bar just 10 minutes from Birds of a Feather, was hit in the early evening on May 31. A man approached a 38-year-old man and a 40-year-old man outside the restaurant with a gun and demanded their watches, the police said. He took a Rolex and an Audemars Piguet, worth $40,000 collectively, before fleeing on a “two-wheeled vehicle” with another person, the authorities said.

About three weeks later, a similar heist was reported outside Carbone, an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village with a dress code — “any guest who does not appear sufficiently well-presented may be refused entry” — and an exclusive reservation list. There, two men robbed a 39-year-old man of his $100,000 Patek Philippe watch at gunpoint, the police said.

The theft at Birds of a Feather took place three days later, the only one of the recent robberies to occur inside a dining room. Then, late last Thursday, the police said that two people riding a moped and carrying a gun stole a watch and a purse from a 29-year-old man and 32-year-old woman on the corner of Manhattan and Norman Avenues in Greenpoint, a Brooklyn neighborhood just north of Williamsburg. The pair was en route from Twins Lounge, a popular spot nearby, to another cocktail bar down the street, according to Greenpointers, a local news website.

[ajw45]

LOL at all the cowboys in the thread ready for the next shootout. No shots were fired in any of these incidents, no one was hurt, all transactional. Legal defense is expensive, get watch insurance and enjoy the city.

[canez16]

Such a disgrace to see what has become of New York City

[TheMethod]

Originally Posted by justdate

Unfortunately big cities are a risky place, prime hunting ground for watch thieves. I wear a VC Patrimony in London / NYC / etc, as it’s a watch I love to wear but is discreet will almost certainly never get recognised.

Dubai, East Asian cities (Seoul/Tokyo/Taipei/Hong Kong), Switzerland are the few places where you can wear anything and feel completely safe.