# Watch theft in London! Please read!



## whoischich

Sadly, my house in London was burgled yesterday and apart from the usual electronics and jewellery items they also cleaned out my entire watch collection - everything from my most expensive Breitling right down to my cheapo Timex beater. Even worse is the lower value pieces with sentimental attachment (graduation, birthday, etc) but no resale value. Bunch of pr*cks!

And of course, this had to happen on the day I wore my cheapest microbrand piece to work and left all my expensive pieces in the watch box. Although I do have insurance, it won't cover the full amount of each piece which is a real shame. Lesson learned: look at the maximum individual item value on your policy!

In any case, please be on the lookout for the following pieces if you see them pop up for sale on the usual channels. I'll only list the important ones:

UPDATE: ALL WATCHES BELOW HAVE BEEN RECOVERED 

- Breitling SuperOcean Heritage Chronograph 46mm, serial

- Omega Planet Ocean 2500 42mm, serial

- Omega Speedmaster Professional, serial

- Tag Heuer Ladies Aquaracer, serial (this was going to be a birthday present for my mum, so was all wrapped up in a nice box too!)

Please do let me know if you see/hear anything. Thanks!


----------



## zimv20ca

that sucks. i've suffered break-ins and it's a feeling of terrible violation. i hope the offenders are found and punished, and you get back all your stolen items.


----------



## Tonystix

Big time bummer! Hope they get busted. They should be hung by their balls.


----------



## Armchair

Cnuts. Sorry to hear that. Keep an eye on eBay or perhaps at your local Cash Converters.


----------



## StufflerMike

Moved to our Stolen Watches Forum.

Oh well, London....

http://s1101.photobucket.com/user/StoleninLondon/library


----------



## whoischich

Thanks gents. Am wondering if this is a good opportunity to completely rethink the collection...


----------



## TJ Boogie

I'm really sorry to hear that Whoischich  I'll keep my eyes peeled on watchrecon and chrono24, what a bummer.


----------



## Toothbras

Ugh, no fun. Sorry to hear about this thief


----------



## Jim44

whoischich said:


> Sadly, my house in London was burgled yesterday and apart from the usual electronics and jewellery items they also cleaned out my entire watch collection - everything from my most expensive Breitling right down to my cheapo Timex beater. Even worse is the lower value pieces with sentimental attachment (graduation, birthday, etc) but no resale value. Bunch of pr*cks!
> 
> And of course, this had to happen on the day I wore my cheapest microbrand piece to work and left all my expensive pieces in the watch box. Although I do have insurance, it won't cover the full amount of each piece which is a real shame. Lesson learned: look at the maximum individual item value on your policy!
> 
> In any case, please be on the lookout for the following pieces if you see them pop up for sale on the usual channels. I'll only list the important ones:
> 
> - Breitling SuperOcean Heritage Chronometer 46mm, serial
> 
> - Omega Planet Ocean 2500 42mm, serial
> 
> - Omega Speedmaster Professional, serial
> 
> - Tag Heuer Ladies Aquaracer, serial (this was going to be a birthday present for my mum, so was all wrapped up in a nice box too!)
> 
> Please do let me know if you see/hear anything. Thanks!


I'm sorry this happened to you

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Big Tone

Jim44 said:


> I'm sorry this happened to you
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


This is horrible. Sorry to hear it happened to you. I don't know how insurance works in the UK, but in the US everyone should get personal articles policies for your watches and expensive jewelry. Most homeowners policies here only cover $2,500 of items that are lost or stolen. A personal articles policy will cover either actual or replacement costs.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## avivalasvegas

Do you live in an apartment or a house? Which part of London? How did they get in? 

Any circumstances/ facts you can share about the burglary may help future watch owners prevent another one.


----------



## boxsash

This sort of news makes me go cold. It could happen anywhere.


----------



## debussychopin

I've always imagined we all can have a microscopic device implanted into each of our valued possessions and if ever stolen, will emit some sort of signal that will hone in onto the perpetrator giving them a constant feeling of nausea or gut pain..until he turns himself in or returns the item. 

Best of luck to you i hope you get some sort of resolve.


----------



## francorx

Sorry to hear man, that sucks. I hope the thieves rot in hell!

Makes me thankful I keep all my watches locked in my safe except the ones on my wrist and my wife's wrist. I have a monitored alarm system and video cameras to deter any thefts just in case. God help anyone who tries to break in while I am home...I have Colt, Browning, Sig Sauer, HK and a few others friends waiting to greet them. 

Not to mention 3 mobile burglar alarms (dogs)


----------



## imaCoolRobot

debussychopin said:


> I've always imagined we all can have a microscopic device implanted into each of our valued possessions and if ever stolen, will emit some sort of signal that will hone in onto the perpetrator giving them a constant feeling of nausea or gut pain..until he turns himself in or returns the item.
> 
> Best of luck to you i hope you get some sort of resolve.


Could I get the premium version that would cause unspeakable pain for life?


----------



## 1981Eagle

If you bought them new - or passed on from someone who did, did the POS thief get the manuals and boxes too? Or did you not have them? Or did they not get them?

Sorry it happened. I don't know which I like less - thieves or liars ... they are both up there


----------



## whoischich

So here's an update I never thought I was going to post. Some of my watches have been found and returned to me!

I was lucky that I registered their serial numbers with the Art Loss registry's watch database. An honest second hand shop did a check against the watches they had in stock and some of mine came up. The police were able to recover these and return them, which is fabulous news. They are now investigating the purchase chain of how my watches were sold from theft, but I'm not holding my breath for a conviction.

Lesson here for everybody: take photos of all your watches, serial numbers in particular. This is the key evidence you need (along with receipts if possible of course) as it's the only way to track them down.

Sadly the pieces with most sentimental value were not amongst the items returned, but I'm happy that even some have made their way back!


----------



## bloody watches

Perhaps the forum moderators could do a sticky on the " the Art Loss registry's watch database" with contact details, information needed etc ??


----------



## Cryslay33

i'll feel beaten if this happened to me. sorry you had to go through that.


----------



## mt_timepieces

Sucks, sorry mate!

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## Socal Sam

Be sure to report the serial numbers to Breitling and Omega. There is always a chance your watches will be sent to the factory for service. It might take years for this to happen but at least there is a glimmer of hope.


----------



## tsuarez_1999

Wait, how were they recovered? did the cops find the thief?


----------



## whoischich

tsuarez_1999 said:


> Wait, how were they recovered? did the cops find the thief?


See my post above clarifying what happened.

The police investigated and apparently the watches changed hands at least four times before reaching the final sales point. I'm not sure if they kept pursuing the leads or if a conviction was ever made.


----------



## booker2020

Hooray!! Nice to be re-united with old friends. Now you have a story to tell haha


----------

