Rolex and Patek Dealer Robbed of $2M in 4 mins - Second time in Six Months - Melbourne, Australia.

Bring back public hanging 😡

Well, I'll be keeping an eye out on WRUW - anyone sharing a new Patek in-line calandar and Root-Beer GMT on the same day ...

🤔

Crazy to think this is possible. This is in a huge shopping centre (biggest in Melbourne) in the luxury section where each shop has security. But there is no point risking your life for a job...

Wait till the thieves find out the exhibition models don’t work and there are just empty boxes in the back because they don’t have any watches.

I was thinking the same thing.

There's relatively close access to the car park / exits, but still. I'm imagining the look on punters faces as some geezer sprints past in a balaclava carrying a hand cannon!

🤷🏻

The whole 'what next' of it is fascinating. Obviously all the serial numbers would be reordered.

There'd be a few disappointed punters having to explain their 'got the call' social media posts!

It'd be across a heap of brands too - possibly some Rolex in precious metals, I can't imagine that there'd be a heap of steel ... or Patek. They carry a heap of brands though, might have a bit of high value stock of their less sought after stuff.

It's pretty wild, pretty brazen. Twice in six months. I feel for the manager actually - and I don't have a heap of love for the management of Rolex / Patek dealers tbh.

My wife and I decided to browse at a Cartier boutique here in the GTA a few weeks ago, noticed a few security agents in the boutique, but didn’t give their presence much thought. One of the Rolex shops downtown has employed a guard for years who is armed with a handgun, customers are buzzed in. After we made a purchase for my wife the item was slipped into the familiar red Cartier carry bag before going into a nondescript plain white bag. As we walked out I did recall the Yorkdale mall shop was targeted by a masked gang in a violent robbery, getaway was facilitated by proximity to the mall parking. Bad economic times will encourage desperate acts.

So true.

This particular store is in the middle of a prominade inside our largest shopping centre (mall). There's a guard - unarmed (our gun laws fall somewhere between Britain and the States) but he just opens the door and waves you through. That'll probably change now.

I reckon what must've been a reasonably straightforward and profitable score for the bandits six moths ago would've been an incentive too.

Pretty crazy to think that some folk woke up this morning knowing that today they're gonna stick a firearm in a shop assistants face and scream at him to open the safe, hey?

Guards armed or not probably should not risk too much regardless of their job description.

Bad guys everywhere, just last week I was getting some cash from an ATM on a busy shopping complex during business hours, as always being careful. While I am still processing my transaction, guy comes up behind me taps me on the shoulder pointing to $30 folded bills on the ground. I look down just to say no, when I look up the guy has my card in his hand, was going to switch another access card probably already had my pin. Another customer had stepped in to intervene but it could have turned out badly for me.

Hanged, drawn and quartered

Completely agree - no one should risk life or limb for money, doubley so in a (proceduralised and insured) work place.

And absolutely - wrong people everywhere but the situation you're describing is relatively rare in Australia. Way less people + a pretty comprehensive socialised welfare system that takes the edge off the extremities of desperation I guess - not saying it's better, just different.

I spent ~ a year travelling the US in the late 90's. Even then, the awareness I had to have of the sort of shite you mention was on a different level to here.

✌🏼️

I get the feeling that a guy who steals 2 million dollars of goods isn't too fussed about social welfare?

He ain’t too fussed about going to prison either it would seem. 🤔

Australia was my father in law’s favourite place to visit, I hope to one day. Covid really messed up the world in so many terrible ways. My wife and I still enjoy living downtown, an area that we both like for different reasons, recently we wanted to try out a well reviewed Japanese fusion diner, limited seating, long queue of happy young people waiting for tables, minutes away a much longer queue of just as young people, lining up to pick from a newly established food bank. I observe, the solutions have to arrive from persons in charge or ones who are in public service. I pay my taxes and hope for the best! Have a great day stay safe! ❤️

Wait until the next thieves find out they have to be placed on a wait list to rob the store.

... Yeah. But the conversation was about petty theft whilst using an ATM.

Wait. They took frank muller? How are they going to resell it? Who is going to buy it?

Thinking about people that threaten and traumatize others, just to take something from them, makes me furious.

Are there measures ad’s can take to stop the sale of stolen watches? I imagine it’s hard to sell these watches

They report the serial numbers to the brands, the police etc. If they're ever forwarded to the brand for service / repair they're held and given to the cops.

Other than that ... I don't know. I guess they move them like any other contraband.

The big concern is an unsuspecting punter buying a stolen watch and getting it confiscated as a result I guess.

These are the questions I've been pondering too.

☻

Damn, whilst I live in NY now, i was born and raised not far from chaddy. It was a place I'd use to go during highschool and uni to hang out with friends. To think this happened there is very strange and unexpected.

Inside job, for sure.

And twice ... not exactly the place you expect to see a hooded geezer with hand gun and bag of swag sprinting for an exit, hey?

Not at all. If that happened here in NY, where I see someone being waving a gun on the news almost every day, I wouldnt think twice. But to think that took place at chaddy, that's shocking.