MB&F M.A.D. Gallery Robbery: All Watches Recovered

Please join PuristSPro in wishing MB&F a very Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!  

Unfortunately, the gallery did such a wonderful job of attracting great artists, showcasing beautiful timepieces, and being a well-known place with objects of desire, this well kept secret was eventually on the radar of some very violent criminals.  On August 8th, earlier this year, The M.A.D. Gallery was violently robbed at gunpoint by two well-dressed armed men who literally emptied the gallery and stole dozens of timepieces including some MB&F Museum Pieces.  The employees fortunately weren't physically harmed, but some of the employees still suffer post traumatic stress when they recall the horrific incident.  

Geneva, once a beautiful and safe city, has become less safe over the years.  Some attribute the safety concerns to the open border with France, claiming that criminals come in from France, conduct their criminal acts in Geneva, and then flee across the border back to France.  Before the robbery of the M.A.D. Gallery, there were already 5 jewelry/watch store robberies in Geneva in the first seven months of 2017, including one with many gunshots fired in the streets of the normally peaceful city of Geneva.  Many of the robberies are suspected by Police to be conducted by professional crime syndicates.  

Many readers of PuristSPro, friends, and clients of the M.A.D. Gallery in Geneva had personal relationships with the absolutely wonderful team at the Gallery.  With such a large percentage of the MB&F owners around the world are on PuristSPro, the MB&F team wanted to give us the update on the situation...

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In a totally unexpected, surprisingly swift and efficient turn of events, the police forces of Switzerland, France and Belgium were able to patiently track the criminals across those three countries, all the way to Antwerp. In a final scene that seems taken directly from a B-movie, Belgian police – disguised as the boisterous fans of a local football team! – took the crooks by surprise and arrested them in a restaurant, as they were preparing to sell their ill-gotten gains to a fellow thug. We were incredibly lucky: every single stolen timepiece was still with the gang, in decent condition despite some scratches and other minor damages.

 

The final steps of the story took a little longer. Considered as evidence in the following proceedings, our timepieces were seized by the Belgian authorities. The fact that the investigation covered three countries and their corresponding police forces and judicial systems did not speed up the process – but we finally received our precious Machines a few months later. A very happy conclusion to this crazy and hopefully unique story!

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Thank you MB&F for the update!  I'm happy to read that there was some "better news" out of this terrible incident!  

The MB&F Team and the M.A.D. Gallery Team wish EVERYONE worldwide a very Happy Holidays and a Happy 2018!