The watch thread: pocket, wrist, sporty, showy? You name it!

[jimbob75]

I’m liking the canvas nato style (Watchgecko and Silvermans) currently. No good in the water though. Any good rubber straps out there? OEM for the SMP was best strap I ever had, but silly money now.

 

[paulfromcamden]

@jimbob75 that Omega in the centre...

 

[Jubal]

The other day some Italian friends told me they had decided not to visit London because of the reports of violent thefts. So all this is not just damaging people with expensive watches, but the entire tourist industry.

The irony!

 

[Hazelberry]

Isn't it a bit like saying a pretty girl should not walk around at night in a short skirt, and the police should have other priorities if she is raped?

Nice try at being inflammatory, but I'll bite anyway. A watch theft, even done with violence, is essentially a property crime. The victim might even avoid violence by simply handing over their watch - or by not wearing it in such circumstances. Rape is sexual violence - it is directed at the victims body & mind, & you can't buy insurance. Which would you prefer your (actual or hypothetical) daughter to be the victim of?

Or in a nutshell: wtf, NO

 

[Tony Lockhart]

Nice try at being inflammatory, but I'll bite anyway. A watch theft, even done with violence, is essentially a property crime. The victim might even avoid violence by simply handing over their watch - or by not wearing it in such circumstances. Rape is sexual violence - it is directed at the victims body & mind, & you can't buy insurance. Which would you prefer your (actual or hypothetical) daughter to be the victim of?

Or in a nutshell: wtf, NO

Good reply

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

My mum was just telling me this weekend of a person who was shot and killed for a watch. A tragedy made even worse because the theif had been informed the watch was a Rolex when in fact it was a fake. The guy had been seen wearing it in a restaurant, the waiter told his criminal friends about it and they acosted the person once they left the restaurant. Apparently (though I have no idea how they know this) the guy told the theif that it was a fake, and they didn't believe him.

An odd story. If it was a fake, why wouldn’t you just take it off and give it to somebody pointing a gun at you and demanding your watch?

 

[Tony Lockhart]

An odd story. If it was a fake, why wouldn’t you just take it off and give it to somebody pointing a gun at you and demanding your watch?

Might’ve thought the gun was also a fake?

 

[paulfromcamden]

An odd story. If it was a fake, why wouldn’t you just take it off and give it to somebody pointing a gun at you and demanding your watch?

From the FT story:

Last year, four men were jailed for the fatal stabbing of music manager Emmanuel Odunlami while stealing his fake Patek Philippe Nautilus.

So it sounds like it does sadly happen.

And this was down the road from me a few years back - a young guy stabbed to death after he refused to hand over his Rolex.

Killer called 'Ghost' who murdered man for Rolex in front of girlfriend jailed

David Egan, 24, has been jailed after Danny Pearce, 31, was knifed and shot at while walking home with his girlfriend after a night out at Oliver's Jazz Club in Greenwich, southeast London

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[stevec67]

An odd story. If it was a fake, why wouldn’t you just take it off and give it to somebody pointing a gun at you and demanding your watch?

That supposes that all the protagonists have time to have a reasonable conversation and think about what they are doing. So that's none of them.

 

[stevec67]

Nice try at being inflammatory, but I'll bite anyway. A watch theft, even done with violence, is essentially a property crime. The victim might even avoid violence by simply handing over their watch - or by not wearing it in such circumstances. Rape is sexual violence - it is directed at the victims body & mind, & you can't buy insurance. Which would you prefer your (actual or hypothetical) daughter to be the victim of?

Or in a nutshell: wtf, NO

*Might* avoid violence is about the best that you could hope for. If I were about to mug someone I would hit them very hard indeed with whatever weapon came to hand in order to avoid the possibility of them coming back at me, maybe with a weapon of their ow n. Only once they are down do you worry about the robbery. Don't forget that you then need to get away. The chances of a reasonable conversation are slim to none.

 

[stairpost]

I’m liking the canvas nato style (Watchgecko and Silvermans) currently. No good in the water though. Any good rubber straps out there? OEM for the SMP was best strap I ever had, but silly money now.

Nice selection, the vintage Seamaster is fab.

 

[gez]

From the FT story:

Last year, four men were jailed for the fatal stabbing of music manager Emmanuel Odunlami while stealing his fake Patek Philippe Nautilus.

So it sounds like it does sadly happen.

And this was down the road from me a few years back - a young guy stabbed to death after he refused to hand over his Rolex.

Killer called 'Ghost' who murdered man for Rolex in front of girlfriend jailed

David Egan, 24, has been jailed after Danny Pearce, 31, was knifed and shot at while walking home with his girlfriend after a night out at Oliver's Jazz Club in Greenwich, southeast London

www.mirror.co.uk

Yeah, my mother is 85 so I'm not surprised she got the details wrong. Unless of course she was told the story by sombody else. What I have no idea about is why my mum told me about it within the last two weeks when it happened years ago. There's no way she would have remembered it from that long ago.

 

[gez]

*Might* avoid violence is about the best that you could hope for. If I were about to mug someone I would hit them very hard indeed with whatever weapon came to hand in order to avoid the possibility of them coming back at me, maybe with a weapon of their ow n. Only once they are down do you worry about the robbery. Don't forget that you then need to get away. The chances of a reasonable conversation are slim to none.

In the USA it's not uncommon for robbery victims to be either stabbed or shot even when they comply. Killing someone is seen as a rite of passage amongst some gang members.
In Brazil they'll just stick a gun in your face (almost literally) and if you give over what you have, in the main they take it and flee*. Though there have been cases where the vicitim was shot anyway (one teen girl springs to mind, she apparently looked at the robber the wrong way).

So might is very definitely a good word choice as being left uninjured is pretty much out of the victims hands in these cases. So presupposing a watch crime is just property theft is rather naive. I understand what Paul was trying to say, though he did make a poor choice of comparison crime.

*Most robberies in Brazil are purely for financial reasons and the Police have a reputation of just killing criminals, so it's possible there's some subconcious lack of drive to physically harm victims in robberies.

 

[Hazelberry]

So presupposing a watch crime is just property theft is rather naive.

I said “essentially” a property crime. Theft is the motive; assault is the means to the end.

 

[stevec67]

I said “essentially” a property crime. Theft is the motive; assault is the means to the end.

That's pretty academic if it's you lying bleeding. It's a crime of violence and a crime of property. If the victim is lucky enough to avoid any harm then it's by good luck rather than judgement.

 

[paulfromcamden]

A member made an ill judged remark comparing watch theft to rape. @Hazelberry explained very clearly why this was wrong.

Rape is a FAR more serious - and sadly far more prevalent - crime than having your Rolex nicked.

Can we just leave it at that please and go back to looking at pictures of pretty watches?

 

[Cav]

That's pretty academic if it's you lying bleeding. It's a crime of violence and a crime of property. If the victim is lucky enough to avoid any harm then it's by good luck rather than judgement.

Why are some people trying to win an argument about the theft of a watch and the possible consequences? Having your watch or phone or wallet or whatever is never pleasant and might involve physical harm. This is not a secret.

 

[PaulMB]

A member made an ill judged remark comparing watch theft to rape. @Hazelberry explained very clearly why this was wrong.

Rape is a FAR more serious - and sadly far more prevalent - crime than having your Rolex nicked.

Can we just leave it at that please and go back to looking at pictures of pretty watches?

My remark may have been ill-judged, but it was made to underline, taking the logic to its absurd extreme, that one cannot establish a kind of moral (and moral according to whom?) "tolerance" to violent crime, and crime in general. It is a bit like saying it is OK to beat up a kid with a 1000 Euro iPhone but not fair to do the same to one with a 100 Euro Samsung.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Is this a risk to the Veblen goods business model, if purchasers are reluctant to wear watches where they can be seen, ie outside the house when socialising or at work, much of the reason for owning them is removed.

 

[PaulMB]

Is this a risk to the Veblen goods business model, if purchasers are reluctant to wear watches where they can be seen, ie outside the house when socialising or at work, much of the reason for owning them is removed.

I'm sure there is that, of course. But it is also being afraid to wear "my watch" outside of the home in general, even when going for a walk alone or taking the car to put some petrol in and check the tyres, or to the supermarket. Before it was stolen I used to wear my 40-year-old, plain steel Rolex everywhere, without giving it a thought. My GF bought me another, but now I take it off before leaving the house, so if I'm walking or driving I can't look and see what the time is. A bit depressing.