patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
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Brazen Armed Robbery During Lunch In Beverly Hills: Can We Wear Nice Watches? Even in safe neighborhoods?
WatchProSite has a large community in the Los Angeles area. We have hundreds of members in the Southern California area that is mostly comprised of the Santa Barbara/Los Angeles/Orange County/San Diego major metropolitan area. Beverly Hills is a familiar stomping ground for me, and WatchProSite has held many events in the Rodeo Drive/Canon Drive/Beverly Way neighborhood.
It's very unfortunate however, that safety in the city of Beverly Hills has recently become a major problem. Once known as a very safe and peaceful community, Beverly Hills has recently become inundated with many more robberies than before, especially violent ones, many involving watches and jewelry. Thieves, armed with guns and knives are routinely fleecing both men and women at gunpoint or knifepoint to rob victims of their jewelry, watches, cars, and cell phones. Cell phones aren't necessarily of value to the thieves, but they take them to prevent you from calling the police, so the thief has more adequate time to escape.
Il Pastaio is a frequent haunt for many people in Southern California. I've personally dined there many times and I still remember the venison ragu I had when I was there last (delicious). But apparently a diner was robbed for a Richard Mille RM011 timepiece, valued supposedly around $500,000 USD. The man was robbed in a crowded outdoor dining area, at gun point, by three suspects. Possibly because he thought he was going to be killed (or maybe he wasn't thinking at all), he fought for his life. The news reports that in the struggle that ensued the gun might've went off multiple times and another restaurant patron was grazed by a stray bullet. The injured restaurant patron has a minor injury and is expected to make a full recovery.
Victim’s radio interview: https://www.spreaker.com/user/kfiam640/shai-bellassan-030521
News article and security video of the mayhem:
abc7.com
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Here on WatchProSite, we have noticed more and more violent robberies. A young student was killed a couple years ago in Knightsbridge, London, supposedly for his Rolex watch. Another man was killed in a Rolex robbery when he tried to stop a thief from stealing his friend's Rolex. A young man was robbed, stabbed, and killed by two thieves on a moped vehicle in London...
At what point do you decide that it's not worth it to wear a nice watch? With the bad economy due to millions of people worldwide out of work due to COVID, is conspicuous consumption something to be reduced during these bad economic times?
Photo Credit: Sky2 ABC News
Edit: I've decided to close this topic since the discussion is treading dangerously close to political topics about gun laws which is a topic we should try to avoid. I thank everyone for their valuable and thoughtful contribution!
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Brazen Armed Robbery During Lunch In Beverly Hills: Can We Wear Nice Watches? Even in safe neighborhoods?
WatchProSite has a large community in the Los Angeles area. We have hundreds of members in the Southern California area that is mostly comprised of the Santa Barbara/Los Angeles/Orange County/San Diego major metropolitan area. Beverly Hills is a familiar ...
Sadly we have (had) the same problem in the Netherlands
Especially in Amsterdam where there was a so-called Rolex gang. They used spotters in bars and restaurants and the victims would be followed after they left the establishment and then get mugged. The criminals used a lot of violence and a few entrepreneur...
The Danger Of Getting Killed Has Killed The Fun Of Wearing Nice Watches
Guns are relatively easy to get in the USA compared to other countries. Hence, why much more criminal activities here in the USA involve guns than in other countries.
CA/NY/IL
Are the worst especially after the class war disguised as a race war waged on by left wing democrats....all I can say is conceal carry at any cost because their solution is to defund the police and let criminals do as they do... so of course if there is n...
Inclined to agree with you, unfortunately.
I’m not from, nor do I live in the US, but when visiting Chicago a couple of years ago I chose to lock the JLC I had with me in the hotel safe before going out for a late-afternoon walk. And I cannot figure out why people would call for the defunding of l...
Garbage state and cr@p city
I sold all my property fast ass soon as I saw were things were headed with Covid in early feb. Also quit my job and found a different one in a different state. I’m still seeing how far they take Covid/ vaccines here but I am ready to bounce tomorrow with ...
concealed carry isn't going to save you in a 3-1 situation, might actually increase the likelihood of getting you killed.
...no watch is worth your life in a situation like that
And if it did, try telling a jury you killed 3 people to protect your $500k watch
Carry if you like, but I'd also make sure your watches are insured so you can make a rational choice between handing over your watch or drawing a sidearm. The legal fees will be more than your insurance deductible so it's important to be clear in your min...
Well stated, I fully agree with you.
I carry and usually don't even have a nice watch on. But I have a wife and kids who depend on me, I have no choice but to be as ready as possible.
This is scurrilous nonsense.
We're really going to have people talking garbage about race and class wars on this board?
Indeed. At least this time nobody was killed!
Seems to be only minor injuries. Although it does seem possible that one of the robbers was shot during the struggle.
All part of modern America, Patrick. Criminals are given free reign here, and it will get worse.
Our laws protect these people. Law abiding citizens have the burden to prove their case, not the other way around. Just wait to the "defund the police" gets going. I admit to always considering what I will wear and where I am going. I leave my watches at ...
Yes, we can wear watches safely in public! Stop fearmongering!
Those who get robbed do everything to catch a mugs attention. Their fate is in their appearance.
That's partially true, a lot of the people who are robbed are overdressed.
But still... If you can't overdress in Beverly Hills, where can you overdress?
It’s not just how you dress but also how you act...
Anyway, the threat is obviously there but not as dangerous as people make it. I‘ll continue wearing my watch as usual.
It may vary geographically too...
For instance, it may be still mostly safe for you to wear your watch in Germany. But in the USA, where the laws are different, and gun ownership is much more prevalent (meaning criminals often own guns or have plenty of access to guns), maybe you would re...
I stopped wearing my Submariner in San Francisco...
...after we got back from living in Tokyo (where I always wore it). Sad...
A gun isn't always an option or even a good choice
Hi all, I live in London in the UK where gun crime is still relatively low but unfortunately getting worse but even when we were allowed gun ownership it was near impossible to get a carry permit for anywhere besides your home and to your gun club or a ve...
We should distinguish between professional criminals and others.
I actually don't think there has been much of an increase in "amateur" crime recently. Rather, it appears that some professionals have spotted a business opportunity. COVID-19 means that there is a lot of outdoor dining, and it is certainly difficult to p...
Everyone will have a view on this, and it’s always good to hear perspective and experience for others here.
For me, 100% my behavior in terms of what I wear and where has changed materially in the last 5 or so years. I have proactively sold specific watches because of this, they had become useless to me as they were unwearable. I have been put off buying specif...
I have yet to hear,
After all the fighting and gun play, did they actually get the Richard Mille Watch off of the guy’s wrist? Or did the victim create enough commotion that the robbers ran away? I also have to wonder, where are the stolen watches most likely to end up? My g...
Some quotes by the victim from the nypost. The watch was taken.
Jewelry dealer Shay Belhassen said he was sitting with a client at celebrity hot spot Il Pastaio on Thursday afternoon when three armed thieves came up behind him and made their move to swipe his $500,000 Richard Mille timepiece. “One of them was choking ...
Just wondering what the legal liability is for the victim of the attempted robbery wrestling with the thief, and accidentally firing the gun and hitting a bystander in the leg?
Is the victim at fault? What would have happened if that woman had died? My issue with concealed carry is the possibility of bystanders getting hurt or killed. I don’t live in the US, but actually interested to hear what the liability laws are for bystand...
Coming from Singapore, I really have a problem with guns...
Think about it, if no civilians has such weapons, who do I need to protect myself against? What amendments needed? I’m ok dealing with people with knifes or baseball bats but guns?!?! No way, I surrender.... People sometimes need to be disciplined, freedo...
I don’t think gun ownership is a problem per se as mentality plays a big role.
If you take a look at Switzerland and Germany for example. Lots of guns in private hands and even 4x more unregistered (25-40 million) than registered (8 million) for the latter, yet annual deaths are only in the high doubles including police and suicides...
A famous bank robber was once asked why he robbed banks. He answered "because that's where the money is."
Any activity that is low risk/high reward will increase. The socialist Thorstein Veblen wrote about the phenomena he called conspicuous consumption which he defined as the ostentatious consumption of goods to provoke the envy of others. Clearly, that its ...
