Question About Safety in NYC

For what it's worth, I spent four months living in NYC last year during the summer. I wore my vintage Speedy everywhere (both during the day and at night) and never had any problems. I think the subway is pretty safe at all hours of the day because there are always so many people. Just be careful and you should be good.

Advice like "don't be stupid" or "use common sense" doesn't help much when it's advising someone who hasn't been in the city in question long enough to develop common sense. I'd wear a low-value watch for on the streets, and keep the rolex hidden until I was in a controlled space.

As a similar city comparison, I live just outside London and often travel in. Personally I wouldn’t and know many others including a police detective who won’t wear his expensive watches in London. The rise in general popularity and exposure of these popular models has meant watch spotters are unfortunately very common.

I’m traveling to London in a few months for the first time in 10 years and recently read about this. Even read an anecdote about an athletic 6’5, 95 kg bloke who was followed to his own front doorstep and mugged for his Sub in Chelsea. https://reddit.com/r/rolex/comments/vzl0q1/watch_theft_in_london/

I wore my Speedmaster on a dark brown strap anywhere I went for years, including rough parts of town. No one knew what it was, it wasn’t mistaken with a Rolex, and its plastic crystal avoided attention.

Fast forward to 2022, and the MoonSwatch is all the rage. I read the chavs regularly cut the queue at the London Swatch boutique to get them.. so I assume word is out about what a Speedmaster is.

Yet, I almost never read about Omega robberies. I wonder if they’re still generally safe to wear. Despite the rise in Rolex robberies, the only Omega incident I’ve read about was in Spain, but it doesn’t specify what the watch was (at that price point, maybe a 321?): https://inews.co.uk/news/world/geor...ched-barcelona-gangs-attacks-tourists-1711448 There’s few details, but I wonder if he was robbed because of who he was instead of what he was wearing... and he just happened to be wearing an Omega.

I’m not really one to take chances with this stuff and will probably wear one of my quartz Victorinox pieces in London. But it’s a bit of a bummer, one of the reasons I got into Omega over Rolex was its “stealth wealth” aspect.

I’m not bulletproof of course and I am in my 30s 6ft, currently 90kg and I’ve been doing judo and bjj for well over 15yrs and I enjoy a good consensual scrap but still wouldn’t wear my expensive watches. 99 times out of a hundred you might be fine but these guys will hurt you badly to get what they want. It has happened many times and you don’t need to risk it. 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.

OP lives in Toronto not on some country farm.

The Amish are coming

Trying to make sense out of a violent criminal mind is a waste of time. They are a-social...meaning they do not consider or worry about the consequences of their actions. When they want something, they take it...and do whatever it takes to get it. Today, many criminals work in teams. They spot your watch (or cash) and they follow you and swarm you. It can be in front of your home, or a nice hotel or in the subway...it doesn't matter to them as long as they get what they want. And they usually don't ask for it, they just start beating on you and stripping you of everything you've got...wallet...watch...whatever. How badly they injure you is just the luck of the draw. Hit your head on the curb and you can be lights out forever. If you are older and you get knocked down and you break your hip, you might find your life altered forever. Your first line of defense is to be aware of your surroundings...the place you are in...the people around you...the time of day or night. The subway is a great place to rob people...they can swarm you, get what they can, and jump off at the next stop. And they usually time their attack to just before they reach the stop they plan to get off at. If the criminal isn't working with a team, they usually will have a serious weapon...knife or firearm...and they are willing to use it. Statistically most people are never effected by violent crime. Statistically, more people are now, than ever before. I wear my Rolexes wherever I go, but with a long sleeve, and an alert eye. Your own behavior is also one of the best ways to not be a victim. Having your face buried in your smart phone, or distracted in some other way, is asking to be a criminal's target. Walking with your head upright, and alert to your surroundings, is your first line of defense. These are the rules of the street in every modern city. Making up stories about why "it won't be you" and ignoring modern reality, is the best way to insure it does happen to you. If you can keep it under your sleeve, wear the Rolex. But don't come out of the Omega store with a package that screams "I just bought a nice high end watch." Have a plain bag with you and put the Omega in that...so the bag you walked in with is the bag you walked out with. In restaurants, you might slip your Rolex in your pocket. Spotters often work or lurk in restaurant and then phone the swarm team with the targets description. Yes it is all very sophisticated these days. Enjoy your trip.

“Maybe the OP can can get some useful first-hand information from people who actually live in NYC, instead of second-hand reports, political dog-whistles, and guesses.” 😉

Ahhhh...but those were the good old days when they actually reported crime as crime. In our modern woke state, we don't like to see reality, just what we wish life was. But for the sake of your argument, compare 2020 to now. Does that make you happier? It sure doesn't make any of us safer.

Spent a lovely weekend in NYC earlier this spring. Felt perfectly safe (as a single woman) walking throughout midtown from the train station as late as 12am with lots of people around. The usual "city sense" rules apply: head up, not in your phone, walk with purpose, and listen to your spidey sense. If things start feeling off, head into an open establishment and chill out while you figure out your next move.