In a recent WatchProSite forum post, patrick_y brought to light a disturbing incident: a multi-million dollar watch heist in the Hollywood Hills. His detailed account and subsequent discussion underscore the escalating security challenges faced by luxury watch collectors today. This article synthesizes community insights on prevention, the role of domestic staff, and the murky world of stolen watch recovery, offering valuable lessons for safeguarding prized collections.
Los Angeles, USA: On 9-July-2024 a watch collector's home was unfortunately burgled. Thieves unfortunately got away with dozens of watches including Patek Philippes, Rolexes, Audemars Piguet, and other highly liquid brand-name luxury watches. The value is in the millions. The home was in Doheny Estates, an upscale enclave in the already upscale Hollywood Hills. The home had a security system, however, the sophisticated thieves were able to disable the security system. The resident of the home believes he was targeted and that the thieves likely knew his home's layout as they knew exactly where the security system control panel was kept - critical knowledge in order to disable the system.
Now, we have a large group of our community live in Los Angeles, many in the Hollywood area. Some of us even know the victim, recognize the victim, or have met the victim.
Can this kind of crime be prevented? Hard to say, sometimes if you're targeted, there's little you can do if someone else is determined. But, remember to take precautions. Don't get complacent. Use more locks, safes, redundant security systems that run on different networks and at lest one should have a cellular backup. Keep a minimal amount of jewelry at home, keep everything else at the bank. And remember to take inventory of what you have at the bank! Check out this article about safe deposit boxes: www.watchprosite.com
For those of you who have domestic staff, remember to go over the contents of your home with the lead housekeeper every year to do an inventory audit. Closely inspect each fork and knife to make sure that it's the correct one. Have a scale with you - the silver knives weigh more - so if you have a utensil that doesn't feel quite right, check the dimensions with another utensil and check the weight.
The watches stolen will be very difficult to resell. However, various auction houses, such as Antiquorum and others, have helped traffic stolen goods. Multiple WatchProSite readers have contacted auction houses like Antiquorum, informing them that one of their lots is stolen property, and that said lot is theirs. Antiquorum instead of alerting the police, gives the watch back to the consignor as to metaphorically wipe their hands - and the watch is lost again - often for years. Remember, auction houses make mistakes. And if you want to know how auction houses cover up their mistakes; auction-houses sometimes ask the buyer to reconsign the questionable goods with the auction house and to keep quiet about the "questionable" parts. Check out this CBS News story that was on 60 Minutes where a Billionaire Koch-brother realized a large percentage of his wine collection had dubious origins...
BILL KOCH: There is a code of silence in this business because obviously, the faker doesn't want anybody to know that he's making fake wine. The auction house doesn't wanna know that, and then, the collector himself generally doesn't wanna know it. Or if he finds out, he wants to find a secret way to dump it and get his money back. And that's why, you see, I was very unique in being the one who said, "I'm gonna stand up for it. I'm gonna shine a bright light on these fakers."
So always be careful when buying any used goods! Remember to buy the seller! The watches will be missing their paperwork, so be extra cautious about buying watches without boxes and papers!
I can only hope that this unfortunate victim is able to recover some or all of his property. As watches become more and more mainstream, mentioned more often in rap music lyrics, prominently worn in blockbuster movies such as The Avengers, and gloated on Facebook and Instagram... ...well, as watches have become mainstream, these crimes will continue to increase in frequency.
P.S. I would encourage everyone to make helpful comments and avoid any unnecessary hurtful comments. Our Terms of Conduct require all of us to behave as we would in a cocktail party - don't type anything you wouldn't say to someone's face. Don't use the anonymity of the internet to say/type something you wouldn't say in person. Thank you!
Key Points from the Discussion
The sophisticated nature of the Hollywood Hills burglary suggests insider knowledge, raising concerns within the community about targeted attacks on watch collectors.
While bank vaults offer security, some collectors fear the risk of being followed to and from the bank, preferring an empty house robbery over personal confrontation for their watches.
The increasing value and portability of luxury watches make them highly attractive targets for criminals, contributing to the rise in watch-related thefts.
Domestic staff, including nannies, cleaners, and landscapers, can inadvertently provide criminals with intelligence about a homeowner's valuables and property layout, making them a significant security vulnerability.
The lax onboarding processes of ride-sharing services like Uber can lead to drivers with questionable backgrounds, posing a potential security risk to high-net-worth individuals who use these services.
Some auction houses have been accused of protecting consignors of stolen goods, returning watches to them rather than alerting authorities, which allows stolen timepieces to re-enter the market and become lost again for years.
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The Discussion
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s_haverford
Jul 10, 2024
As a resident of LA, it hurts that people in our community are being targeted. The video definitely made it look like someone with key information was part of this robbery in some capacity. Only speculation but that’s the way it felt. I am hoping the individual recovers some, if not all, of his collection. And any other stolen goods. It’s scary to go through something like this but it is a learning experience. Thank you OP for the comprehensive write up. Just especially wanted to call out what y
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AuHavrePro
Jul 10, 2024
And also another example of why people with even more financial means are okay with paying hundreds of thousands, if not millions per year for round the clock security measures. I wish him good luck in recovering his watches!....
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Marc Obermann
Jul 10, 2024
But becoming far too common in the times we live in, at least it appears no one was hurt. I'm not really sure the bank vault idea is such a good one personally as we know the lengths some of these criminals will go for just one watch on a wrist. Sorry but I would rather an empty house get robbed then me personally having been followed to the bank to collect a couple of watches and threatened with a firearm or be subjected to seems too many of these crimes are not just of opportunity but rely on
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gary_g
Jul 10, 2024
It also goes to show you that you can only trust someone to a point. Hopefully he was smart enough to have his watches insured for market value.
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GrouchoM
Jul 10, 2024
"Prominent New Zealand couple targeted in deadly US robbery" www.bbc.com
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ArmisT
Jul 10, 2024
Both stories above are notable and concerning for their targeted nature.
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