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With increased local armed robberies, I’m no longer wearing Rolexes
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reverbtime
·A few years ago I posted a thread about a BWW owner that ran over a thief that had stolen his Cartier (the thief had shot towards the owner a few rounds before). Obviously, it was controversial and there were diverse opinions on the matter.
Curiously enough, the BWW owner, is now a politician after he become well known.
Curiously enough, the BWW owner, is now a politician after he become well known.
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mseamaster
·With so many homages and decent replicas, how would criminals know at all what's real? I mean there are even superclones and I doubt anyone could tell if a watch is fake without literally staring up close, I can't see the font at all when someone with a watch passes by me. I would probably recognize a sub from afar, but whether is a homage or not... not really. And ads these days are full of replicas, many even coming with fake boxes and certificates. Or even receipts.
I mean it's ridiculous when I see a listing that with a receipt from Singapore/Hong Kong that says bought for 10k $, but the listing is priced at 800$ and the watch is brand new.
I think maybe this whole issue is more prevalent in countries where people don't wear homages/reps.
I mean it's ridiculous when I see a listing that with a receipt from Singapore/Hong Kong that says bought for 10k $, but the listing is priced at 800$ and the watch is brand new.
I think maybe this whole issue is more prevalent in countries where people don't wear homages/reps.
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0002s
·Robert Heinlein: “Well, in the first place an armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.”
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pdxleaf
·We have an armed society in the states. Manners not so much.
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gbesq
·Robert Heinlein: “Well, in the first place an armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.”
Edited:
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0002s
·This is a quote from a science fictional novel about a utopian society and, in my opinion, taken very much out of context. Heinlein was saying that peace at the end of the barrel of a gun isn’t really peace at all. If the current state of affairs in the United States demonstrates anything, it is this: being the most armed nation per capita on Earth has done very little to deter violent crime.
Ok,….lolz
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Tubber
·With so many homages and decent replicas, how would criminals know at all what's real?
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67761737
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Tubber
·A terrible thing to happen. The young dealer has seemingly taken his own life after this robbery.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...obbed-chokehold-inside-London-store-died.html
There is an updated article that gives a deeper insight into his reasons and motivation.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...aler-dead-robbed-work-feared-responsible.html
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hen
·This is supposedly an Iranian finger amputation as punishment. I prefer not living in Barbary.
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gbesq
·
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mseamaster
·There's always a trade-off. On one hand, if a suspect is proven guilty of murder beyond doubt(multiple witnesses, video footage, evidence), it's only human to want maximum punishment. And then if the person reoffends, even capital punishment. I mean, why would you give that person the chance to murder even more people?
But if things are muddy and you ain't sure without doubt, then would you want a severe punishment for a potentially innocent person?
Sci-Fi thought: Removing body parts may be civil in the future, if there's a perfect way of restoring them in case you prove innocent. And ideally you could also choose to serve time and get your parts reinstalled afterwards. But... people will probably just get replacement parts from a black market somewhere. Still it sounds funny to think you can be then prosecuted for possession of illegal thumb replacement while your thumb has been removed for say a duration of 5 years because of theft or something.
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RevZMan123
·This is supposedly an Iranian finger amputation as punishment. I prefer not living in Barbary.
Soooo, don't live there and don't steal anything. Profit!
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RevZMan123
·Sci-Fi thought: Removing body parts may be civil in the future, if there's a perfect way of restoring them in case you prove innocent. And ideally you could also choose to serve time and get your parts reinstalled afterwards.
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hen
·Soooo, don't live there and don't steal anything. Profit!
Ohfffff why didn't I think of that?
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gbesq
·Back to watches. Common sense remains the best defense. If in doubt, leave the expensive watches and jewelry at home. In a safe. Bolted to the floor. Or in a bank safety deposit box.
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pdxleaf
·Back to watches. Common sense remains the best defense. If in doubt, leave the expensive watches and jewelry at home. In a safe. Bolted to the floor. Or in a bank safety deposit box.
You mean well, but people who got robbed weren't robbed for lack of common sense.
You can't defend yourself by staying constantly alert. If a group is watching you in a crowd, they will have the advantage.
You can't be big enough to fight back. Professional boxers have had watches stolen in public by much smaller guys.
You can't stop a robbery with a gun or a knife, unless very lucky. You'll have to be attacked before you get a weapon out. If the robber has a gun, you're shot, or the person you're with is shot, or the stranger behind you is shot. If the thief grabs your watch and runs away, if you shoot him in the back, you used deadly force when your life was not in danger and you're screwed.
More policing, tracking and catching thieves and putting them in jail seems the only defense. Or like you say, stop wearing watches in higher crime areas, but that seems like victim blaming, even if it might be the safest action.
Safes are a whole other topic. There was a thread or two on them. One negative is that if a robbery happened while residents are home, a thief might threaten viloence to get a person to open the safe. If that person doesn't know the combination or refuses, that could be bad. There may have been other downsides but that one stuck in my head.
Safety deposit boxes have downsides, but that's another thread.
Edit: I understand and share the feeling that these thieves need to be similarly treated roughly. In this case, they contributed to or even caused a man's death. Our house was broken into and it's a horrible feeling of being victimized. Worse yet was talking with my young daughters who had things stolen from their rooms. If I could have shot those robbers I probably would have. So I don't want to sound preachy. It's good to collectively vent, but just not make public policy based on how what we'd really want to do.
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reverbtime
·If in doubt, leave the expensive watches and jewelry at home. In a safe. Bolted to the floor. Or in a bank safety deposit box.
Don't think wearing a blingy, full 18k gold watch in the roughest neighborhood is a bright idea, either.
I go somewhere in the middle wearing watches. Covering your sleeve when you are in a tough neighborhood; putting the watches in your front pocket while you pass through a certain area; changing a watch to a NATO or leather (in my neck of the woods, a metal bracelet seems to scream $$$). All of these things I've done. But, I will never just keep a watch in a safe all the time, or use it around the house here and there.
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gbesq
·Both of the posts preceding this one from pdxleaf and reverbtime seem more than reasonable to me. Obviously, one cannot safeguard against every contingency and if trying to do so eclipses any enjoyment that we get from our collections, then what's the point in having one. I wear a nice watch every day. If I'm going to be in a sketchy neighborhood or a public place where my watch might be openly visible to people I don't know, I either don't wear one or make sure that it's under a sweater or a long sleeve shirt. I don't travel internationally with a nice watch and my entire collection is not kept in my home. That's what I do. Your mileage may vary.
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JwRosenthal
·IMO, to always leave watches in a safe is a bit too radical. And, it means they won and have control of you (the bad guys, thieves, etc.). Why buy watches in the first place if they will not be worn and enjoyed? We could just leave them with bubble wrap in safe, and in theory they will be "safe" (I do think a hiding spot works better sometimes over safes, or using a decoy safe, etc.).
Don't think wearing a blingy, full 18k gold watch in the roughest neighborhood is a bright idea, either.
I go somewhere in the middle wearing watches. Covering your sleeve when you are in a tough neighborhood; putting the watches in your front pocket while you pass through a certain area; changing a watch to a NATO or leather (in my neck of the woods, a metal bracelet seems to scream $$$). All of these things I've done. But, I will never just keep a watch in a safe all the time, or use it around the house here and there.
The criminals have become more emboldened and far more clever than in years past. They know most people won’t fight back so they have become more aggressive- and if you do fight back be prepared to lose since you don’t know what form of weapon they have.
They have also become more web savvy. They can scout social media to see who’s in their area flexing their new bling at a local restaurant for an Instagram post. It’s not that hard to piece together someone’s location by the bread crumbs they leave behind on the web.
We just need to be more vigilant about our privacy. I always wear long sleeve shirts (sleeves rolled up in the warmth months) but if I’m on public transit or in a crowded place- I make sure my sleeves are down and if I’m holding the grab bar on the train I am mindful that my watch is under my sleeve. I don’t do social media so that’s not a problem for me and my wife never posts anything on her socials about where she is (as a woman it’s a completely different concern of targeting than just watches).
The idea of common sense is not out of line- if you are advertising your wealth/good taste to others, be prepared to attract attention from everyone.