Rolex Theft by Home Break-in

[novae500]

sorry to hear about your loss. I didnt see that you mentioned having security cameras as part of your system. I have 10 that covers inside/outside the house. Any motion/sound trigger goes to my phone alert and email as well. Also have recording 24/7 to review of any activity if needed.

[77T]

I have an update - all your suggestions here and on PM's have been great input. Besides the many valuables I explained earlier, a personal defense item that one usually holds in their right-hand was stolen...not going into that detail further except to say it has been replaced. Two others that are always hidden were left behind so I wasn't "defenseless" the last few days, but now more powerfully equipped again. However, I can't tell you how dismayed I am that my old stolen one is now in the hands of criminals. I just can't imagine the feelings I'd have if one day in the future the police call me to say a victim was injured (or worse) by someone using that item. Awful thought - but now the big new safe will be a more responsible way of storing those items...speaking of safes:

I did get the safe - a 5' 500 lb one-hour fireproof one that was professionally installed via long bolts into a concrete slab in the home office. I took the advice and used a bonded safe company with 20+ years of experience. A side note - these newer tumbler lock safes are much more detailed when opening - not your old high school locker combination ;-) I consolidated the contents of my other 2 small safes into one big one. I had found small gold items they missed - also found some strings of pearls they amazingly missed by failing to open a side door to the jewelry cabinet. The pearls were given to my wife by me, and the gold charms were from her kids & grandkids. At least they can be handed down as a partial remembrance. A sidenote - upon finding those items in the mess I was stumped on how to protect them until safety and security was restored this week. I chose "security by obscurity" + "hide in plain sight" + "don't put all your eggs in one basket" tactic. Packed them into small separate shipping boxes left over from incoming deliveries. Put them on several different wire rack shelves scattered around the garage with the car parts, gardening chemicals and yard tools. Everything is now in the safe.

I used to keep important paper docs, passports, Wills, etc in a Sentry 1 hour file safe weighing 40 lb. They opened it by finding the keys but left all those items alone - identity theft wasn't uppermost in this crime. The other small safe was just for child safety for those personal defense items - it held 3 of them and they couldn't open it, nor did they take it. Weighed 25 lb. so that meant they wanted to travel light. They also left all the keys behind for all the doors but I'm rekeying all locks anyway.

The alarm/security company is upgrading to live monitoring, perimeter and interior live cams, NVR, doorbell cam with motion and remote Smartphone App. Learned that the frequency for some of the old wireless sensors I had changed - so they must be replaced, too. Good call by those of you who advised me via PM. This won't stop intrusion if they are determined, but will perhaps reduce the time they can spend inside - and help identify them. Security consult was funny - things I never thought about - low angle hidden cameras can better catch people's faces outside since intruders are typically wearing a ball cap covered by a hoodie and hunching over while they make entry. They only drop the hoodie when they are inside and want a wide field of vision to steal most valuables.

Detective is working 2 other similar cases with similar methods of operation (casing the neighborhood, method of entry, pattern of theft). The 4 rolexes lost at my home increase the total to 12 Rolexes in the 3 cases. Two of my neighbors had evidence that has helped tie mine into those other 2 cases. I can't go into more details on that.

I'm no CSI person but upon finding certain items that would include DNA of the perpetrators the night of the crime, I bagged them separately using sterilized tongs, labeled them and held for investigators. Although this won't be primary solution (unless these perp's DNA are already in a criminal database) it could help tie the cases together if they are caught.

Again - your support and keeping our conversations civil on this thread have been so helpful in holding up my spirits. If you see any pics of these watches on your favorite selling sites or social media it would be most appreciated. I found one more serial number for the white dialed ladies OP - it is X852492 (BTW, it was TT - not SS - my memory was still in shock). I also reached out to the TRF seller that dealt me the DD - I has the s/n for that one in my laptop but it was also stolen.

I will update photo's and serial numbers soon.

[77T]

I need to add one last serial number just in case the 1803 DD gets out into the sales nets. Then I will update photo’s because I found on error in my initial post.

The DD s/n is 2600527.


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[77T]

So here are the updates photo’s with serial numbers.

First, our daughter remembered better than me that the Ladies OP with a white Roman dial was Not SS.

It was actually TT. I gave it to my wife so long ago I forgot until I found an appraisal.



I am using a stock photo from Bob’s Watches because I had no actual one (computers were stolen too).



Again s/n is X852492






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[77T]

Next update is for the Ladies OP with black diamond dial. I have discovered they stole an aftermarket diamond bezel so my original stock picture is perhaps wrong. I can’t remember what configuration it was in. While I know that sounds incredulous to us WIS, please understand my wife passed away in May, suddenly after a brief illness. I had not been able to get our daughter and granddaughters together at one time to look at and separate the jewelry they were inheriting.

So visualize this stock watch picture with a diamond bezel perhaps.



And the s/n is K302125




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[77T]

Now updating the YG 1803 DD picture with s/n info:



s/n 2600527 (yes it’s an oldie Goldie)




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[77T]

Last update is just to complete the pictures for everyone who would like this in one easy page. There’s no change to the info on the Platona - just completing the quartet that was stolen...



s/n 8D705451

Thanks for your patience - it’s getting closer to a better situation here and I wanted to update everyone for the edits I needed to make.

Now onto the next list of “to-do’s”

Truly grateful for our TRF community.


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[1st amg]

I can't imagine what you are going through, and I truly admire your perseverence with your dedicated updates here on trf. Your a trooper!

[richamby]

Paul, that platona will be what gets them caught.

[BBL]

Originally Posted by 77T

Next update is for the Ladies OP with black diamond dial. I have discovered they stole an aftermarket diamond bezel so my original stock picture is perhaps wrong. I can’t remember what configuration it was in. While I know that sounds incredulous to us WIS, please understand my wife passed away in May, suddenly after a brief illness. I had not been able to get our daughter and granddaughters together at one time to look at and separate the jewelry they were inheriting.

So visualize this stock watch picture with a diamond bezel perhaps.



And the s/n is K302125

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Paul: perhaps you have a photo of your wife wearing the watch, or maybe when the diamond bezel was put on, a photo was taken?

[RW16610]

Thanks for updating us, Paul. Good to get the info on the watches out there and I'm hoping for the best possible outcome

[Investr]

Hang in there my friend! For some reason, I truly have a good feeling this is going to turn out ok for you sir!! I really do....

[77T]

Originally Posted by BBL

Paul: perhaps you have a photo of your wife wearing the watch, or maybe when the diamond bezel was put on, a photo was taken?

Thanks for that thought. That may be possible. Now that we all take digital pics, I won’t find that soon - all the computers were taken except an old Lenovo. It’s possible our daughter has one on her iPhone. She is still very emotional of course so it may take a while. I am rebuilding a new MacBook Pro and will look through my back-ups.

If anyone is skilled with photoshop maybe superimpose an aftermarket diamond bezel like the one below onto that stock photo I shared?



IIRC, it was 1 or 2 ct. of stones. I believe I counted them once upon a time and there were 31 or 32 in the bezel.

In the spirit of sharing, this was done a decade before I joined TRF and learned all the reasons why to use genuine Rolex parts.

BTW, my friendly jeweler at the time was Ermitage. Peter did my service work on Rolex back then in Dunwoody. He educated me about the perils of aftermarket bezels. As he was servicing this particular watch of my wife’s it failed the pressure test. Because the jeweler who made that bezel did not fabricate it well-enough, Peter had to add gold and shape it properly - he never charged me for that extra work.

Back to this case - the police have said the s/n’s are key detail. Our detective is in CID and they also have a special detail assigned to pawn stores.

If the crew is local and “stupid enough” per LE, they will try to pawn quickly. But they may also be part of a larger team that collects all the stuff and parses it to different fences. Here the pawn stores must hold an item 30 days. The GCIC database (https://www.ga.cogentid.com/GA_PDF/G...ideAug2010.pdf) gets the s/n’s posted within a week of the crime - or two if volume is high.

Because of the level of loss - near 250K - and because of a possible tie-in to other break-ins, LE believes this is a new crew. Strange as it sounds that bodes well because they may be “stupid enough”.

I will call Rolex USA of course, but I didn’t have all the s/n’s until yesterday. One was missing (the YG DD) because I had lost my laptop. But in a stroke of luck I recalled my SOP on buying watches. (Despite buying that DD from a trusted seller on TRF over a year ago, I always have my current watchmaker go through it for aftermarket parts, lack of lube, and pressure check it. That guy is Gary Wilson and he had the s/n in his database - besides being a great guy and fully certified with both a Rolex and Omega parts account - he keeps good records. That’s where my boyhood Omega was safely awaiting an overhaul.





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[encarter13]

Sorry to hear about this. Terrible news. Good luck in the search.

[function12]

I will also say always have a trap in your alarm system. What is a trap. This is an area that you know they will go. Master bedroom is a great place for one trap. So, you put a motion sensor in that room or a door contact on that door or a pressure pad as they enter that area. This is an instant alarm once it is triggered. So you might have a 30-90 second delay to enter your home to turn it off but once you enter the trap the alarm goes off immediately. Also try to never use wireless sensors. These can be jammed. Glasses break sensors are junk too. Please do your research and hire the right company and not the company with the flashy commercials or websites.
Two different alarm signal paths is a must too.

[tbonesteak]

Sorry man, just awful!

I'd keep my eyes on local forums like Craigslist, etc. to see if anything familiar pops up, obviously if it does, you ring law enforcement right away.

Also, prob visit a bunch of pawn shops within a 50-100 mile radius, give them the heads up, that way they can call law enforcement if anything shows up.

[77T]

Originally Posted by function12

I will also say always have a trap in your alarm system. What is a trap. This is an area that you know they will go. Master bedroom is a great place for one trap. So, you put a motion sensor in that room or a door contact on that door or a pressure pad as they enter that area. This is an instant alarm once it is triggered. So you might have a 30-90 second delay to enter your home to turn it off but once you enter the trap the alarm goes off immediately. Also try to never use wireless sensors. These can be jammed. Glasses break sensors are junk too. Please do your research and hire the right company and not the company with the flashy commercials or websites.
Two different alarm signal paths is a must too.

Yes - in my tech world we called that a “honey pot”. The existing system has all that - but in post 1 you’ll see why it matter

I left for a 30 minute errand - forgot to set the alarm - and then had to respond to a family emergency that kept me away for 12 hours.

Agree that you can’t rely only on glass break. They levered the sash with a pry tool of some type and presses it inward without breaking glass. Our glass break and fire sensors are on even when the system isn’t armed.

But am definitely upgrading and will go for 2 paths to alert monitoring station.


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[77T]

Originally Posted by tbonesteak

Sorry man, just awful!

I'd keep my eyes on local forums like Craigslist, etc. to see if anything familiar pops up, obviously if it does, you ring law enforcement right away.

Also, prob visit a bunch of pawn shops within a 50-100 mile radius, give them the heads up, that way they can call law enforcement if anything shows up.

The police here have a pawn section inside their CID and that part has been nailed down. My AD uses his own network with the other jewelers around here. He got a flyer.

Agree on CL - it would be possible that the thiefs have already mailed it to a cohort 1000 miles away. Same for IG or FB. That’ll be harder than an eBay filter.

Just to help the local shops I have this flyer going around electronically:






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[77T]

So I just got an update from LE. As you may recall there were other homes hit before me. And now two others have been hit since me.

More security video is mounting up. A facial of one potential perpetrator, and a license tag ID’d on a car involved in a couple of incidents have been captured.

You know LE always tries to set your expectations to a reasonable level, but the detective said they were getting close.

These people may just mess up and be caught before everything can be fenced.

I’m no CID detective but the rash of break-ins with same MO is worrying me that they are just in town for the holidays and will run back home to fence the goods.

Let me say, and I hope you’ll never get tired of hearing this, I really appreciate your support and thoughts.

Even if you are 1000 miles or more from ATL area one of these Rolexes might show up in your funnel - whether it be EBay, CL, IG, FB, etc. In other words, the larger picture of thousands of saved searches on those platforms could get a hit just as easily as the pawn shops.


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[enginerd]

Wow, this sucks. So sorry. I truly hope all works out well for you.

I was reading this just as I was about to drill my basement slab to anchor my new safe. Looks like it might be the best $ I spent this year. Nothing terribly fancy, but now keeps all the watches, jewelry, spare car keys, passports, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh, and shop around. I paid $379 with free shipping from Amazon about a month ago.

[Nerry]

very Sad news... very sorry to hear about this.

[77T]

Originally Posted by enginerd

Wow, this sucks. So sorry. I truly hope all works out well for you.



I was reading this just as I was about to drill my basement slab to anchor my new safe. Looks like it might be the best $ I spent this year. Nothing terribly fancy, but now keeps all the watches, jewelry, spare car keys, passports, etc.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Oh, and shop around. I paid $379 with free shipping from Amazon about a month ago.

I went a little bit bigger...



Made a deal at Bass ProShops since I was buying some other things. Just over $500.


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[RW16610]

I'm glad they've got something on them. There's a jail cell waiting for everyone that was involved in that! Keep doing what you're doing, Paul You've handled this very well and did everything to get the info out there. My fingers remained crossed and I hope to hear they've been captured and the items recovered. Stay strong!

[wristmatic]

A safe isn't always the safest place! I kept a safe at home, but it was there for a diversion. My home been broken into once and a empty safe was carried out.

[wiswrist]

Very sorry to hear this, Paul. I admire your positive attitude. Hoping for some good news for you!

[kunlun]

Paul, my sincerest best wishes to you. I'm so sorry this happened.

Thank you for sharing the insight you've gained. I'm thinking about my own security more now.

Originally Posted by kode701

A safe isn't always the safest place! I kept a safe at home, but it was there for a diversion. My home been broken into once and a empty safe was carried out.

Awesome!
How was it secured?

[Kingsking]

Originally Posted by 77T

I went a little bit bigger...



Made a deal at Bass ProShops since I was buying some other things. Just over $500.


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I've been looking into buying a safe myself but ive watched so many youtube videos about safes being total garbage and pro's breaking into them within minutes. Can you give me some pointers on what type of safe specs i should be looking for?

[soundserious]

Been following this thread and some comments:

1. Only have a couple of expensive watches at home, leave the rest in the bank and switch out when you want. They have better security.

2. That safe looks imposing but many bargain safes are basically just a security locker. Do your research. Think about the value of the contents and buy the safe accordingly.

3. Insurance is a must.

Best of luck!

[BlueAZ]

I bought a Liberty Colonial Extreme this year. Very large safe, plenty of storage, 1000 pounds and bolted to the concrete slab. Paid about $2300 installed.

[soundserious]

Originally Posted by BlueAZ

I bought a Liberty Colonial Extreme this year. Very large safe, plenty of storage, 1000 pounds and bolted to the concrete slab. Paid about $2300 installed.

Yes, that makes sense. A $500 metal box from a sporting goods store, not so much.