3 ms·

I looked it up, these are like $100k->$500k watches being stolen. How often is that actually happening? Also, this seems like it could easily be an insurance

I looked it up, these are like $100k->$500k watches being stolen. How often is that actually happening? Also, this seems like it could easily be an insurance scam. It seems just a little insane for someone to be casually walking around with a half million dollar watch on their wrist and some thief just happens to know "Hey, that looks like a half million dollar watch!"

ToucanLoucan 2y ago
> How often is that actually happening? I mean if you can move that watch in a way that doesn't get you caught for 1/4 of it's retail price, twice a year, that's a decent salary. Doesn't need to happen all that much.
- cogman10 2y ago
  Right, but that requires there to be an identifiable and large enough population of people wandering around with such watches on their wrists. I guess what I'm saying is I can understand a lot better how the "kia boyz" thing happened. There are a lot of easily identifiable kias everywhere. But luxury watches just seems so niche that it's hard to think someone stealing them would be a crime wave.
  - mschuster91 2y ago
    > But luxury watches just seems so niche that it's hard to think someone stealing them would be a crime wave. Well, you won't see that happening in a small village. Not enough people wearing expensive watches there. But in large cities with a huge amount of both domestic and foreign rich people it's bound to develop. As long as you have a good spotter able to determine if someone is wearing a watch worth barely a few hundred dollars (or less, knockoffs are a thing) or a legit 50k upwards luxury watch, it's one of the more profitable ways of criming: no weapons or drugs involved which tends to yield much harder sentencing in most jurisdictions, less chance of bystanders intervening like in a conventional robbery (most people don't even realize what has happened until they see the motorcycle speeding away), less chance of the victim fighting back or attracting help, almost no chance of getting caught on camera, and the stolen goods are innocuous to carry around - unlike with guns or drugs, if you get in a traffic control or whatnot, the chance that the cop will ask about the watch you're wearing is almost zero because your average cop has zero idea if you're wearing a 5000 dollars Rolex or a 50k dollars Rolex.
mschuster91 2y ago
> How often is that actually happening? Often enough. One gang alone took 18 raids in about two years, making about 1.5 million euros [1] - it's about once a month the police actually bother to make a report. Even if one assumes they can get only half the price due to no heritage, 750k for 12 people tax-free, that's more than even experienced developers can net in a year. > It seems just a little insane for someone to be casually walking around with a half million dollar watch on their wrist and some thief just happens to know "Hey, that looks like a half million dollar watch!" That's the thing. Munich has a ton of luxury shops for obscenely rich tourists, a good scout is all it needs. Quite some victims actually didn't have insurance. [1] https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/banden-reissen-in-muenchen-uhren-vom-handgelenk-festnahme,UJGRl8q https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/banden-reissen-in-muenc...
shiroiushi 2y ago
What kind of idiot spends half a million dollars on a watch? Or even $100k?
- sealeck 2y ago
  The kind with a lot of money, enough that $500k doesn't really register.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    Probably the kind that won't have a lot of money for long. Warren Buffet would never spend such a ridiculous amount of money on a watch.
    - blackwateragent 2y ago
      > Warren Buffet would never spend such a ridiculous amount of money on a watch. He has apparently at least a 40k+ watch. [1] [1] https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3215841/most-expensive-watches-worlds-7-richest-billionaires-ranked-warren-buffetts-rolex-and-elon-musks https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3215841/...
    - sfn42 2y ago
      The thing with a $500k watch is it keeps its value. It might even increase in value. So it's not a frivolous waste of money, you can get most of it back unless you break or lose it.
- schmidtleonard 2y ago
  Rich people exist. If you think spending a million bucks on a watch makes someone an idiot, you have failed to internalize how rich a large number of rich people actually are.
  - mschuster91 2y ago
    Nevertheless it's one of the weirdest, most niche ways possible to flex wealth. Only true watch aficionados will be able to spot just how much money you had spent on that watch, but everyone can see how much the car you ride, your villa or private jet is worth.

ToucanLoucan 2y ago

> How often is that actually happening? I mean if you can move that watch in a way that doesn't get you caught for 1/4 of it's retail price, twice a year, that's a decent salary. Doesn't need to happen all that much.

cogman10 2y ago
Right, but that requires there to be an identifiable and large enough population of people wandering around with such watches on their wrists. I guess what I'm saying is I can understand a lot better how the "kia boyz" thing happened. There are a lot of easily identifiable kias everywhere. But luxury watches just seems so niche that it's hard to think someone stealing them would be a crime wave.
- mschuster91 2y ago
  > But luxury watches just seems so niche that it's hard to think someone stealing them would be a crime wave. Well, you won't see that happening in a small village. Not enough people wearing expensive watches there. But in large cities with a huge amount of both domestic and foreign rich people it's bound to develop. As long as you have a good spotter able to determine if someone is wearing a watch worth barely a few hundred dollars (or less, knockoffs are a thing) or a legit 50k upwards luxury watch, it's one of the more profitable ways of criming: no weapons or drugs involved which tends to yield much harder sentencing in most jurisdictions, less chance of bystanders intervening like in a conventional robbery (most people don't even realize what has happened until they see the motorcycle speeding away), less chance of the victim fighting back or attracting help, almost no chance of getting caught on camera, and the stolen goods are innocuous to carry around - unlike with guns or drugs, if you get in a traffic control or whatnot, the chance that the cop will ask about the watch you're wearing is almost zero because your average cop has zero idea if you're wearing a 5000 dollars Rolex or a 50k dollars Rolex.

mschuster91 2y ago

> How often is that actually happening? Often enough. One gang alone took 18 raids in about two years, making about 1.5 million euros [1] - it's about once a month the police actually bother to make a report. Even if one assumes they can get only half the price due to no heritage, 750k for 12 people tax-free, that's more than even experienced developers can net in a year. > It seems just a little insane for someone to be casually walking around with a half million dollar watch on their wrist and some thief just happens to know "Hey, that looks like a half million dollar watch!" That's the thing. Munich has a ton of luxury shops for obscenely rich tourists, a good scout is all it needs. Quite some victims actually didn't have insurance. [1] https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/banden-reissen-in-muenchen-uhren-vom-handgelenk-festnahme,UJGRl8q https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/banden-reissen-in-muenc...

shiroiushi 2y ago

What kind of idiot spends half a million dollars on a watch? Or even $100k?

sealeck 2y ago
The kind with a lot of money, enough that $500k doesn't really register.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  Probably the kind that won't have a lot of money for long. Warren Buffet would never spend such a ridiculous amount of money on a watch.
  - blackwateragent 2y ago
    > Warren Buffet would never spend such a ridiculous amount of money on a watch. He has apparently at least a 40k+ watch. [1] [1] https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3215841/most-expensive-watches-worlds-7-richest-billionaires-ranked-warren-buffetts-rolex-and-elon-musks https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3215841/...
  - sfn42 2y ago
    The thing with a $500k watch is it keeps its value. It might even increase in value. So it's not a frivolous waste of money, you can get most of it back unless you break or lose it.
schmidtleonard 2y ago
Rich people exist. If you think spending a million bucks on a watch makes someone an idiot, you have failed to internalize how rich a large number of rich people actually are.
- mschuster91 2y ago
  Nevertheless it's one of the weirdest, most niche ways possible to flex wealth. Only true watch aficionados will be able to spot just how much money you had spent on that watch, but everyone can see how much the car you ride, your villa or private jet is worth.