Daughter’s BF robbed of Rolex in Amsterdam

[SDGT3]

I’ve read many of these threads here on TRF, but never thought it would hit close to home.

My daughter BF was jumped by 5 guys after leaving a restaurant and robbed of his Rolex, phone, passport and wallet. Luckily he wasn’t stabbed or shot, like the football player in San Francisco in broad daylight this week. Two guys came up behind him and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground and dazing him - they then all jumped on him like jackals. Fortunately, he’ll be fine with no serious injuries, but he’s in a foreign country with no ID, phone, credit cards, or passport. The embassy is closed for the weekend so he’ll have to wait until Monday to sort that out.

The stories I’ve read here on TRF and now this very personal one have absolutely convinced me to never wear an expensive watch whilst traveling. It’s just not worth it.

[Cassian739]

Wow, I’m so sorry to hear about your Daughter’s BF, glad he will be okay! Could have been much worse.

[huncho]

sorry to hear this, and yeah there's absolutely 0 reason to wear a nice watch when traveling abroad at this point. just gotta enjoy the vacation without worrying about something you don't even need. people will always say millions are wearing their rolexes daily in whatever country/city/etc and while that's true, why risk ruining a week or 2 that are supposed to be enjoyable time off

domestic trips are questionable since you don't really stick out like a tourist when going to another state but guess it depends on what city you're going to. there's definitely a list of ones to just not bother with

[RichM]

So sorry to hear. Glad he’s going to be OK. Hope it all gets sorted out and they get home and put this behind them.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by huncho

sorry to hear this, and yeah there's absolutely 0 reason to wear a nice watch when traveling abroad at this point. just gotta enjoy the vacation without worrying about something you don't even need. people will always say millions are wearing their rolexes daily in whatever country/city/etc and while that's true, why risk ruining a week or 2 that are supposed to be enjoyable time off

domestic trips are questionable since you don't really stick out like a tourist when going to another state but guess it depends on what city you're going to. there's definitely a list of ones to just not bother with

Yes I get this line of thinking. I guess it totally depends on the individual. Taken to the extreme, I suppose it’s not safe to wear your nice things even at home as you could be targeted just about anywhere. Sad times we live in.

[xrole]

Originally Posted by huncho

sorry to hear this, and yeah there's absolutely 0 reason to wear a nice watch when traveling abroad at this point. just gotta enjoy the vacation without worrying about something you don't even need. people will always say millions are wearing their rolexes daily in whatever country/city/etc and while that's true, why risk ruining a week or 2 that are supposed to be enjoyable time off

domestic trips are questionable since you don't really stick out like a tourist when going to another state but guess it depends on what city you're going to. there's definitely a list of ones to just not bother with

The only country I would and do wear a Rolex in is Switzerland. Whenever I travel its my Garmin Fenix and the only time I would consider to take a Rolex is if I knew it was in a very prosperous and low crime environment.

If you go to any city with high petty crime and you walk the streets with a Rolex then you are painting a target on your back and putting yourself at a greatly heightened risk of being the victim of a violent crime.

Being the victim of a violent crime has a psychological impact as well as a material impact and I don't want to spend the rest of my life carrying that around unless I can avoid it.

[Barbara_C]

A nice older couple went to see their daughter/grand baby in LA they were eating in a upscale place off Sunset walking to her mini van they were robbed at gunpoint .....his white gold DD and her TT DJ were snatched with purses phones credit cards and about 80 bucks cash. I have a key to their condo to feed her kitty....she called me crying asking to overnight pass port a visa card and American express card to her which I did. These low life's put the gun to the babys head and said they had 30 seconds or they would shoot a 1 year old. That was less than a month ago.
We were talking the next day about it......I said don't think they would shoot a baby in the head because every cop in LA county would be after them. As Chris Rock says if the police have to come and get you they are bringing an ass kicking force with them. But these idiots today you never know.

[SDGT3]

Originally Posted by Barbara_C

A nice older couple went to see their daughter/grand baby in LA they were eating in a upscale place off Sunset walking to her mini van they were robbed at gunpoint .....his white gold DD and her TT DJ were snatched with purses phones credit cards and about 80 bucks cash. I have a key to their condo to feed her kitty....she called me crying asking to overnight pass port a visa card and American express card to her which I did. These low life's put the gun to the babys head and said they had 30 seconds or they would shoot a 1 year old. That was less than a month ago.
We were talking the next day about it......I said don't think they would shoot a baby in the head because every cop in LA county would be after them. As Chris Rock says if the police have to come and get you they are bringing an ass kicking force with them. But these idiots today you never know.

That’s terrible. Hope they caught the people who did that.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Barbara_C

A nice older couple went to see their daughter/grand baby in LA they were eating in a upscale place off Sunset walking to her mini van they were robbed at gunpoint .....his white gold DD and her TT DJ were snatched with purses phones credit cards and about 80 bucks cash. I have a key to their condo to feed her kitty....she called me crying asking to overnight pass port a visa card and American express card to her which I did. These low life's put the gun to the babys head and said they had 30 seconds or they would shoot a 1 year old. That was less than a month ago.
We were talking the next day about it......I said don't think they would shoot a baby in the head because every cop in LA county would be after them. As Chris Rock says if the police have to come and get you they are bringing an ass kicking force with them. But these idiots today you never know.

Unbelievable, awful. Sorry to hear this as well. I’m sure they appreciate your support through all of this.

[piratfisk]

Nope. Unfortunately, the days of traveling wearing nice things may be behind us because of society's attitude toward crime & [the appearance of] instant success. Please don't take that statement as political bait, which I promise from the bottom of my heart it isn't. I know how hard I worked to get my watch & maybe it's recency bias, but these stories seem to be more & more common.

I travel only with a Glycine GL0076. Doesn't draw attention, does everything I could ever need a watch to do on vacation. If something happens to it, I'll be annoyed, but hopefully not concussed or passport-less. What a sorry state of affairs we've become where you can't even enjoy the nice thing that you earned without looking over your shoulder, or worse, being hit over your shoulder.

[Cassian739]

Originally Posted by piratfisk

Nope. Unfortunately, the days of traveling wearing nice things may be behind us because of society's attitude toward crime & [the appearance of] instant success. Please don't take that statement as political bait, which I promise from the bottom of my heart it isn't. I know how hard I worked to get my watch & maybe it's recency bias, but these stories seem to be more & more common.

I travel only with a Glycine GL0076. Doesn't draw attention, does everything I could ever need a watch to do on vacation. If something happens to it, I'll be annoyed, but hopefully not concussed or passport-less. What a sorry state of affairs we've become where you can't even enjoy the nice thing that you earned without looking over your shoulder, or worse, being hit over your shoulder.

Well said.

[996marty]

Sorry to read this thankfully he’s ok but the shock of being robbed will take some getting over. Hopefully the people that did it get caught

[Barbara_C]

Didn't that rich guy Producer Michael got held up in BH driving his Ferrari?....getting jugged for a Jacob and co watch....they did him a favor...nobody needs a watch with the planets going around the sun.
In one youtube video he said he was selling off his collection and stopped wearing watches in public...he goes in for that Jacob and co crappola......which you would have to pay me to wear it, looks silly but his collection of Rolex ,AP, GP, VC, are magnificent.

[Krash]

So sorry to hear about this. Awful, just awful. All these “is it safe” threads are justified.


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[rolexpatek363]

I wear a Casio F-91W for travelling. Everyone knows what it is, and what it's worth.

[brandrea]

I’m so sorry to read this Phillip. I hope he is ok and they get home safely.

[1st amg]

Philip, this is awful. So sorry to hear about this.


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[travisb]

That's terrible.
I'm glad to hear he's ok physically.

[scarlet knight]

What a terrible story. We love Amsterdam, my wife has Dutch cousins. On our last trip, we were on a trolley and a local advised us to watch out for pickpockets.

We were in the West Village in NYC at night after the US Open tennis last week. I noticed tons of single women walking, talking, jogging. Took that as a sign of confidence, if not safety.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

We were in the West Village in NYC at night after the US Open tennis last week. I noticed tons of single women walking, talking, jogging. Took that as a sign of confidence, if not safety.

My wife is a runner and gave me perspective (hers of course) on this.

When she is alone, running, walking what have you, she says she is always extra aware of her surroundings. Extra precautious when a man approaches. She will often pretend to be talking to someone on her phone and takes a wide berth around men who approach.

I had never really given it much thought … but Joe when I see w single woman out for a run or a walk, I’m sure to give them plenty of space as a way to let them know I’m not a threat. Andrea said that she’s sure the majority of women would see that as being considerate

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by brandrea

My wife is a runner and gave me perspective (hers of course) on this.

When she is alone, running, walking what have you, she says she is always extra aware of her surroundings. Extra precautious when a man approaches. She will often pretend to be talking to someone on her phone and takes a wide berth around men who approach.

I had never really given it much thought … but Joe when I see w single woman out for a run or a walk, I’m sure to give them plenty of space as a way to let them know I’m not a threat. Andrea said that she’s sure the majority of women would see that as being considerate

A couple of things;

my wife is 5’, 86 lbs…hence her purse selection https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=958514

Most of my employees are women and I spend a lot of time talking to them about issues that I was completely blind to. I’ve come to see their perspective, and I, like you, spend a lot of thought trying to avoid making women feel vulnerable in the street. HOWEVER, one perspective that I share with women, that I think goes without consideration, is that more men are assaulted by other men relative to women by a huge margin.

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by brandrea

My wife is a runner and gave me perspective (hers of course) on this.

When she is alone, running, walking what have you, she says she is always extra aware of her surroundings. Extra precautious when a man approaches. She will often pretend to be talking to someone on her phone and takes a wide berth around men who approach.

I had never really given it much thought … but Joe when I see w single woman out for a run or a walk, I’m sure to give them plenty of space as a way to let them know I’m not a threat. Andrea said that she’s sure the majority of women would see that as being considerate

It's definitely sad this is needed, but yes my sister said the same, just too many fking creeps around man.

Last thing I want is to have some girl feel unsafe, I keep my distance as well.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by SDGT3

These are such good points and something my daughters have opened my eyes to, and as a man, was not really conscious of before. I notice it most when walking in parking lots in particular, say from the car to a store or back. I have to tell myself to not walk directly behind women or too close as they could perceive me as a threat.

Originally Posted by SearChart

It's definitely sad this is needed, but yes my sister said the same, just too many fking creeps around man.

Last thing I want is to have some girl feel unsafe, I keep my distance as well.

[huncho]

Originally Posted by scarlet knight

What a terrible story. We love Amsterdam, my wife has Dutch cousins. On our last trip, we were on a trolley and a local advised us to watch out for pickpockets.

We were in the West Village in NYC at night after the US Open tennis last week. I noticed tons of single women walking, talking, jogging. Took that as a sign of confidence, if not safety.

and yet someone was robbed at gunpoint outside a high end restaurant in the village a few months ago, probably using spotters/inside job. i wear my watches every day here but no neighborhood is safe from this stuff, although manhattan is a pretty safe place to be overall

[Rebar]

Originally Posted by huncho

and yet someone was robbed at gunpoint outside a high end restaurant in the village a few months ago, probably using spotters/inside job. i wear my watches every day here but no neighborhood is safe from this stuff, although manhattan is a pretty safe place to be overall

I’ve gotten a little too comfortable. Gonna make sure to cover my nice watches with long sleeves, and if wearing short sleeves then to not be alone and extra mindful.

Almost got robbed today in a well to do and quiet residential neighborhood of NYC during the middle of the day. Thankfully the would be thieves weren’t the exceptionally brutal or even experienced types and I was able to take off when I got a sense of what was happening.

[gliazzurri]

Originally Posted by Rebar

I’ve gotten a little too comfortable. Gonna make sure to cover my nice watches with long sleeves, and if wearing short sleeves then to not be alone and extra mindful.

Almost got robbed today in a well to do and quiet residential neighborhood of NYC during the middle of the day. Thankfully the would be thieves weren’t the exceptionally brutal or even experienced types and I was able to take off when I got a sense of what was happening.

Can you explain a bit more?

[RW16610]

Originally Posted by Rebar

I’ve gotten a little too comfortable. Gonna make sure to cover my nice watches with long sleeves, and if wearing short sleeves then to not be alone and extra mindful.

Almost got robbed today in a well to do and quiet residential neighborhood of NYC during the middle of the day. Thankfully the would be thieves weren’t the exceptionally brutal or even experienced types and I was able to take off when I got a sense of what was happening.

I'm glad you were able to get away to safety, this is insane.

[huncho]

Originally Posted by Rebar

I’ve gotten a little too comfortable. Gonna make sure to cover my nice watches with long sleeves, and if wearing short sleeves then to not be alone and extra mindful.

Almost got robbed today in a well to do and quiet residential neighborhood of NYC during the middle of the day. Thankfully the would be thieves weren’t the exceptionally brutal or even experienced types and I was able to take off when I got a sense of what was happening.

where at? i feel like the quiet residential areas in the outer boroughs are where i'd prefer to cover up

[Rebar]

Originally Posted by gliazzurri

Can you explain a bit more?

Nothing crazy. A stranger came up from behind and did a hard 180, then immediately got close to me and tried to start a conversation. With his eyes on my wrist. The typical stall and distract tactic. I backed away and noticed a crappy car pull up on the curb driven by a guy that looks like the first guy. Ok so thats the getaway car. Guy #1 kept approaching and I just turned around an booked it down the street. I was plenty distracted beforehand - talking on the phone with my earbuds in, glasses on, total lack of awareness.

Originally Posted by huncho

where at? i feel like the quiet residential areas in the outer boroughs are where i'd prefer to cover up

Park Slope

[HL65]

Sorry to hear that. That is awful!