How detailed are Rolex watch spotters?

[JSolution]

Originally Posted by harvey

I read a lot of nonsense on this forum but this is bizarre!

[Feb_29]

Originally Posted by FHFinster

Many people from NY don't even know what East NY is.

And while it's not great, people do live there without getting robbed.

Great book if you like NYC history, called "How East NY Became a Ghetto". In short, discriminatory lending policies (red lining) and realtors leveraging racial tensions to trigger home sales. Quick read.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

East NY can be googled by anyone: "While total crime has decreased since the 1990s, it is still higher in East New York than in the rest of the city. As of 2018, with a non-fatal assault rate of 113 per 100,000 people, East New York's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole."

Sure, people who live there not getting robbed. I would see how it'll change if anyone from this forum showed up around Linden park.
Thanks for book suggestion. However, I don't need to read about it - I lived through it. Still visiting the area often because my parents buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery.

[cm10005]

I have seen one on the most expensive watches ever in the wild while in East New York. It was an RM and it was real. The guy was also wearing a set of handcuffs

[IR201]

Appreciate the thoughtful replies guys!

My thinking is that if it were *just a risk of robbery* I wouldn't mind so much, but there is no guarantee one gets out physically unharmed. I bet I'm also discounting the toll getting mugged can take on someone's psyche.

I am still sorting out the desire to be prudent and safe for myself and my family but also to not live in fear. It's a balance. The impetus for my post was partly what I consider to be a changing variable in the equation, which is the uptick in watch robberies, some of which seem very coordinated, gang related or inside jobs as some pointed out (so while the PowerPoint joke was funny, I'm not sure how far off it is in some but of course not all cases!).

The solution seems to be as many of you have pointed out - be about your senses and surroundings, and be careful around alcohol (and perhaps also hit the gym to bulk up lol).

What made me curious to ask my question though was whether one of the other mitigation measures I have been taking - which is to wear a less expensive piece - even makes a difference or am I fooling myself.

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I’m never sure what to say in these threads. I guess when I travel, I’ve never gone anywhere where I feel like I’m going to get robbed

Agreed and I have never even stopped to think about it unless I am reading these threads

[daveswordfish]

If you’re worried about getting robbed, a fake, homage, or similar looking piece isn’t going to help. Insure your watch and enjoy it, or wear a gshock when out and about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[IR201]

Originally Posted by JSolution

Who cares just take it off and hand it over ?

Anyway - what reference is that seiko I really like it and have a mind to buy one right now :)

Hi it is actually super comfortable!

It is:

SSC813 Prospex Panda Chronograph Solar Quartz

It is super comfortable actually. I think they might be sold out everywhere, I am not sure when a restock will happen. But I guess you can get them on the Seiko grey market

[IR201]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Agreed and I have never even stopped to think about it unless I am reading these threads

Do you think where you live might affect how much you think about it?

[zengineer]

I think you're safe.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

[Harry-57]

That's a really nice Seiko.

For any watch, exercise some basic judgement, insure it, wear it, enjoy it, and if in doubt, don't.

[Xtralarg]

Paranoia

[tramplejericho]

I won’t wear a PM watch in London, and I sold my rose DD and bought a platinum so I could feel more comfortable wearing it.

That may seem crazy but to the OPs point, to the uninformed a platinum DD looks like a DateJust in steel, probably not worth it if they can get a PM alternative somewhere else…

Means I get to wear my watch far more and feel comfortable.

Crazy!


228206, 126655, 116400GV

[yankeeromeo]

I think I concur only time I feel at risk is drunk.

Once in Tenerife I was wearing a GMT2 bi metal and felt a little uncomfortable. My mistake but it just stood out a little too much

[BumbleB]

That’s why i own this. For travel. I usually bring 1 Rolex and this watch. If i go out for drinks or areas i’m not sure about I wear this.

Looks like an average smart watch to most people. I’m the only one who knows it’s my ceramic Hublot




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kirksingleton]

I would be embarrassed to wear a fake. I ware my dd40 most everywhere but depending on where I am headed I will often wear my Apple Watch. I typically do not spend time in questionable neighborhoods. Now that I work from home, I leave my watches in the safe unless I am going out. We will be at the 4seasons in Maui in a few weeks and I will bring the dd but wear the Apple Watch if we go into town. I find that as I get older, it is less important to me to sport one of my Rolex’s. I still appreciate them but the Apple Watch is really a nice piece of kit.

[LA_LEC]

Originally Posted by Flintstone

Just wondering….are people leaving their BMW’s and Mercedes at home and driving a Kia because they’re afraid of getting carjacked? These posts are getting ridiculous

Not yet but it's still early in this process...time will tell.

[LA_LEC]

Originally Posted by IR201

Do you think where you live might affect how much you think about it?

Indeed it does. I live in West Hollywood where robberies are a daily occurrence - forget walking down Melrose anymore. Beverly Hills is next door and it is not much safer. So unfortunately I am always aware.

[FHFinster]

Originally Posted by Feb_29

East NY can be googled by anyone: "While total crime has decreased since the 1990s, it is still higher in East New York than in the rest of the city. As of 2018, with a non-fatal assault rate of 113 per 100,000 people, East New York's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole."

Sure, people who live there not getting robbed. I would see how it'll change if anyone from this forum showed up around Linden park.
Thanks for book suggestion. However, I don't need to read about it - I lived through it. Still visiting the area often because my parents buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery.

Still worth the read. There's other little tid-bits in there about the development of ENY housing projects as an escape from the "squalid conditions of the UWS"!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WilsdorfNDavis]

If you are going somewhere where you think to yourself "Someone might steal my watch, I'm gonna to wear my fake" (or something a little less flashy), you really shouldn't be going there in the first place!

[Marcjvr]

Originally Posted by beshannon

Agreed and I have never even stopped to think about it unless I am reading these threads

Must be nice living a such a privileged and sheltered life

[IR201]

Originally Posted by WilsdorfNDavis

If you are going somewhere where you think to yourself "Someone might steal my watch, I'm gonna to wear my fake" (or something a little less flashy), you really shouldn't be going there in the first place!

Just to clarify, I wouldn't wear a fake (I think someone else said that).

It seems to be increasingly common for places that were previously safe for Rolex wearing (say midtown Manhattan, Beverly Hills, some parts of London, etc.) to be higher risk.

So then, in that case, would you say to avoid those places altogether?

What I'm getting at is, as this issue becomes more ubiquitous, I don't think it's as easy anymore as just staying out of some dangerous inner city area or high-crime country, for example.

[bluestreak]

https://www.cogencyteam.com/news/201...culating-risk/

https://www.gawker.com/people-are-te...rai-1770536398

http://journal.sjdm.org/9729b/jdm9729b.html

[noshame]

Depends on the thief. Some are "professionals" and can identify from a reasonable distance, and some are unplanned, crimes of opportunity that just happen. But when wearing a watch that resembles a particular Rolex, like your Seikona (I borrowed this name from another poster), you have to almost assume the thief, or anyone for that matter, will think it's a Rolex.

I own a Seiko SKX009 that I often wear to beach destinations. I know it's a far cry from a Pepsi ... the bezel layout is different, there's no GMT hand, but from 15feet away, with the red and blue aluminum bezel, similar dial layout, and jangly jubilee bracelet, sometimes even I pretend (in my head), that's my Pepsi.

[WilsdorfNDavis]

Originally Posted by IR201

Just to clarify, I wouldn't wear a fake (I think someone else said that).

It seems to be increasingly common for places that were previously safe for Rolex wearing (say midtown Manhattan, Beverly Hills, some parts of London, etc.) to be higher risk.

So then, in that case, would you say to avoid those places altogether?

What I'm getting at is, as this issue becomes more ubiquitous, I don't think it's as easy anymore as just staying out of some dangerous inner city area or high-crime country, for example.

Yes, thefts have been occurring in places where you never had to worry about it before...making it harder to determine the "dangerous" areas.

[vitadine]

Originally Posted by Hpozzuoli

Pro tip 101. When I travel outside the country any PM piece I take with me is fake. I still bring real ss pieces but only 1 or 2.

I feel odd even saying I own fake Rolex’s, but the hassle of an insurance claim isn’t worth it to me. I would rather smile and hand a robber a fake and feel good after the experience, like I beat them at their game. My family also felt uneasy about being abroad with that much money on my wrist. I wouldn’t hesitate to remove a fake, but would probably risk everyone’s safety keeping a real PM piece on my wrist. Sad world these days.

Why not just wearing a genuine but cheaper watch (e.g. Tudor, Seiko, Tag Heuer, Omega, Breitling, Sinn, Nomos, Longines, Oris or even Casio or Swatch) instead of a fake Rolex?? I would NEVER in life wear a fake watch. Fake watches are for fake people.