Stolen Rolex Watches For Sale – Not If We Can Help It

March 7, 2012 (Powerhomebiz.com) As with any high end, luxury product, a luxury watch sometimes comes with unwanted attention and vulnerability due to the high value of the product, and the ease at which a stolen one can be sold. Luxury watches have been a particular target for thieves for many years, due to the fact that they are small enough to conceal and a watch is usually worn on the owner’s wrist (after all, that’s what they’re for isn’t it?) making them easy pickings for the discerning mugger. An added bonus for the would-be thief is that the luxury watch is usually something purchased with the intention of showing it off, as it is very much a status symbol, and so it is quite easy for an interested party to know who wears (and therefore owns) what.

Celebrities are often the type who can afford the hefty price tags that are associated with these fine pieces, and they are also in the public eye, putting them right in the firing line. In fact there are countless articles and web pages telling us which celebrity was spotted wearing which watch. For example, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wears an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy wears a $540,000 Vacheron Constantin. Russian President Vladimir Putin wears a $60,000 Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar and his fellow countryman Roman Abramovich, is apparently a Rolex man and owns various pieces including a Rolex Daytona and a gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date Submariner.

Today’s footballers are more cash rich than they have ever been and any wise watch dealer would know that this market is an attractive one to break into. We’re fortunate to have some such customers and whilst we must respect their anonymity, we can also say that they are usually the epitome of the old adage, “if you’ve got it, flaunt it!” Former Arsenal defender Lauren, who played for Arsenal for 5 seasons from 2000, was recently in the news as his £6,000 Rolex Daytona Steel and Gold was recovered by Police in a series of raids recently carried out, and it was posted to website Flickr, a free image gallery website owned by Yahoo which is used by Police to display recovered stolen goods for reclaim. It was spotted by the footballer who subsequently reclaimed it a whopping 6 years after it was stolen. He was lucky but many are not so fortunate and the thieves are getting smarter.

The crooner, Michael Buble, was recently married to Argentine TV star and bombshell, Luisana Lopilato, and on the day of their wedding, thieves (clearly knowing they’d be out for the day) broke into their luxury Buenos Aires house and bypassed the alarm. Madonna’s London home was broken into while she was attending her grandmother’s funeral in the U.S. Apparently the thief was caught and arrested in Poland where he was found still carrying some of her possessions. Keira Knightley’s $2m London apartment was raided recently, while she was “glamming it up” at the Rome Film Festival. Again, somehow I think they knew she wouldn’t be home. Across the pond, American Tampa Bay Rays star Evan Longoria’s rented home was broken into and robbed while he was playing ball for his club. They figured out where he was renting with his teammates and then checked the game schedule. It wasn’t hard to work out where he’d be and when. So what are the rich and famous to do to protect their possessions better?

There is little chance of concealing their flamboyance when flamboyance is very much at the centre of the concept of fame. Perhaps preventative action like bringing back the death penalty for stealing from someone famous would do the trick. I don’t think so. So maybe it’s just the price they pay for all the helpful attention they get such as getting into restaurants that are fully booked, or bypassing the queue at prestigious nightclubs.

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I am a watch collector, dealer and enthusiast. I have been in the watch industry for 15 years and in that time I have acquired many pieces and a sound and extensive knowledge. I currently have a collection of over 100 watches and intend to keep adding to that. http://www.officialwatches.com