Question About Safety in NYC

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Always enjoy these threads. Just wear your watches you bought to wear.

My travel watch
Love my TCM looks like a Garmin (always a Speedmaster with it)



Don't wear your expensive Seiko , my friend. Here in Australia the chance of beeing mugged for a watch is there, but increases potentially, if you cary a vintage Fishing Rod. ..... We care for the important things in life . Australia= The last Frontier.
 
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I'll throw my two cents in and agree with all the other people here who also actually live in NYC. Use common sense and you should be just fine. The subway is really not dangerous unless you are by yourself at 4am. I wear my Omegas on the subway all the time and I frequently see other people wearing their Rolexes with no issue.
 
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Just to make another point: do what works for you. If you end up being stressed out your whole trip worrying about your watch, it doesn't matter what the numbers are. I wear a Rolex on the subway because I live here, I bought it to wear it, and I'm comfortable. But if it doesn't fly for you, maybe it's a chance to rock a great looking Seiko.
 
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Recently spent a week (back) in NYC and before that a week in Milan and arrived at a related but opposite conclusion: I wouldn’t wear a Rolex there not because of safety, but because in many neighborhoods everyone is wearing a Rolex and - and if you’re anything like me - you might end up self-conscious of looking like just another Rolex monkey.

Granted, I’m implicitly pointing out that I was in certain neighborhoods for there to be so many luxury watches. But the underlying point remains: many people who live in NYC wear nice watches, daily. It’s neither risk-free, nor irrational.
 
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Prior to pandemic, I wore my OP all the time in the subway. No issues.

After pandemic, subway crime has increased. I work from home 95% of the time. When I take the subway to work (in Soho), I wear my SS Rolex if I have a sleeve covering it. If I wear short sleeves, I have my non-SS Rolex in my bag and then take it out to wear when I'm in the office.

Since it'll still be warm when you visit, your wrist will be exposed and green bezel/dial will stand out.

When I picked up my yellow gold Day-Date from the NYC RSC last month, I wanted to wear it immediately but the two RSC reps didn't recommend it especially if taking the subway.

When traveling in general, probably best to wear/have one nice watch. Like you said, when you buy the Omega and wear it out immediately, it's best to conceal the Omega box and bag in a generic bag/backpack.

Enjoy your time here and your Seamaster purchase!
 
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It's still pretty safe in New York. A couple high-profile thefts have occurred but that's usually been the standard Richard Mille attack.

However, I agree that if you're extra nervous you could buy the Omega and wear that. Omegas fly under the radar for those whose attention you'd rather not attract, but also has the added benefit of signaling you as a watch guy to those in the know!

Source: Live in Queens and (used to regularly, now periodically) commute to midtown.

Also, the subway is not as dangerous as everyone makes it out to be. As is good advice everywhere, keep your eyes open and pay attention to your surroundings, that's all.
 
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Don't wear your expensive Seiko , my friend. Here in Australia the chance of beeing mugged for a watch is there, but increases potentially, if you cary a vintage Fishing Rod. ..... We care for the important things in life . Australia= The last Frontier.

Lost my wallet just out of town at 4am in the morning at a servo (gas station for US readers) on my way fishing and the police station rang me that arvo (afternoon for US readers) to say they had my wallet. Still had the $187 in it 👍
 
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Lost my wallet just out of town at 4am in the morning at a servo (gas station for US readers) on my way fishing and the police station rang me that arvo (afternoon for US readers) to say they had my wallet. Still had the $187 in it 👍

Maybe we should start a separate thread about good deeds we've been the recipient of. Last year, I apparently dropped my fishing license somewhere (most likely deep in the wilderness, since that's where I usually fish) and someone mailed it back to me anonymously.
 
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Maybe we should start a separate thread about good deeds we've been the recipient of. Last year, I apparently dropped my fishing license somewhere (most likely deep in the wilderness, since that's where I usually fish) and someone mailed it back to me anonymously.

Thread drift alert!

In the late 1970s (yikes!) I was trekking in Nepal in the Annapurna region. There were four of us traveling together one day, and we arrived at a well from which trekkers and sherpas would drink en route. One of our group took off his watch – a Rolex, as it happens – before drinking and splashing water on his face. He then completely forgot about it, and left it sitting next to the well. Roughly five hours later a sherpa caught up with us on the trail, and returned it to the man. I seem to recall that he even went off in another direction after having achieved his goal.

It's difficult to overstate the value of the watch, relative to the minuscule wages earned by that sherpa. Surely it was equivalent in value to many years of his work. My memory is that he was even uncomfortable accepting a modest reward, though I cannot recall whether he ultimately did.

The experienced left a deep impression on me, and helped to form my now long-standing admiration for the Nepalese people.
Edited:
 
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They were complaining about people being released with a summons for violent crimes often not even held overnight.
Your friends are misinformed people charged with violent felony are not eligible for release with a summons.
 
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There is always a risk where ever you live but London is pretty bad at the moment. These kids are driving around on mopeds with machetes down there trousers, I’m not exaggerating.

I'm guessing you're not a native Londoner ? Herts or Kent ?

Frankly, this is nothing like my experience of living, working and travelling round London for decades. I wear a Speedy or decent watch everywhere.
 
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Maybe we should start a separate thread about good deeds we've been the recipient of. Last year, I apparently dropped my fishing license somewhere (most likely deep in the wilderness, since that's where I usually fish) and someone mailed it back to me anonymously.

Hey must have been the same guy, as the guy was named anonymously also, that dropped my wallet to the police. 😁😁
 
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Your friends are misinformed people charged with violent felony are not eligible for release with a summons.
They didn’t mention felonies in particular one of them works for the city so I’m guessing he knows what he was talking about however we didn’t go into detail as it was supposed to be a fun time it was more of a passing comment he made I didn’t press for details on which crimes are eligible for no bail and have people walk the same day. Next time I’ll ask him further
 
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NATO straps are you friend. I noticed that bracelets are what attracts attention in the first place, at least that’s how I notice certain nice watches.

When I go to big cities, including NYC, I wear my watches on black NATOs. Rolex, IWC, Longines and Omega. Maybe not as fun but it makes some of the luxury watch bling fly under the radar.
 
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They didn’t mention felonies in particular one of them works for the city so I’m guessing he knows what he was talking about however we didn’t go into detail as it was supposed to be a fun time it was more of a passing comment he made I didn’t press for details on which crimes are eligible for no bail and have people walk the same day. Next time I’ll ask him further
When referencing violent crimes what comes to mind for me is felony level things. If you friend was referencing misdemeanors like starting a bar fight for example as violent crime that's fair. However someone charged in a run of the mill bar fight would almost defiantly be given bail. The only thing that previously determined if that person would be held was how much money they had. There were always people being released without even being held overnight. They just had to be wealthy enough.
 
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Meh. I stopped wearing nice watches in the warm weather (short sleeves) in Philly 1. because there is a string of watch targeted armed robberies, and 2. because it is becoming a lawless cesspool where the police don't care anymore. When I can wear a longer sleeve to cover my watch I'm alright wearing something nice.
 
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This thread reminds me of” bonfire of vanity “ with all the NYC stereotypes.
And don’t forget to visit the Rolex dealership on Canal St.
Best running Rolex I ever bought.
 
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Maybe we should start a separate thread about good deeds we've been the recipient of. Last year, I apparently dropped my fishing license somewhere (most likely deep in the wilderness, since that's where I usually fish) and someone mailed it back to me anonymously.
Yes! Here is a POSITIVE Chicago story. Last May, my son who lives on the North Side, lost his wallet and his keys due to an open zipper on his back pack. By the next morning someone had tracked him down and returned his wallet money and credit cards intact. A post on craigs list yielded the return of his keys the next day. He also found his bike gloves nicely attached to a fence when he retraced his steps. I now have a zero tolerance policy to folks who seem to feel they have permission and a duty to tell me how awful Chicago is.
 
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Yes! Here is a POSITIVE Chicago story. Last May, my son who lives on the North Side, lost his wallet and his keys due to an open zipper on his back pack. By the next morning someone had tracked him down and returned his wallet money and credit cards intact. A post on craigs list yielded the return of his keys the next day. He also found his bike gloves nicely attached to a fence when he retraced his steps. I now have a zero tolerance policy to folks who seem to feel they have permission and a duty to tell me how awful Chicago is.
Had a coworker who was from Chicago. People would ask him what it was like to be from such a dangerous city or some variation of the question. He'd ask them if they knew where Chicago is on the top 10 most dangerous US cities list. They didn't so he'd ask them to guess and then look it up. They all had the same confused look when they realized it's NOT in the top 10. The whole team enjoyed watching this so much we'd always tried to find ways to mention that he was from Chicago when meeting outside people.
 
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Not much to add here but just use common sense and be aware...I would not wear a nice watch in certain parts of the city, but generally Manhattan is ok. Omega definitely would be more low-key but always lots of Rolexes, APs, Omegas, etc... on the subway.