Rolex ripping is becoming somewhat of a sport in London. So rampant is this larceny that watch resellers are now resorting to a counter-intuitive, statutory warning. Call it the need of the hour, lucky for luxury watch owners, Watchcollecting.com is addressing and advising the issue via a mobile billboard touring London. They are spreading the word on how to avoid becoming a victim of Rolex rippers and other watch-mugging gangs per Watchpro by clearly articulating how to behave with a Rolex, Omega, or Patek Philippe on your wrist.
The easy-to-remember advice comes in the form of an acronym for Watch. W stands for ‘Wear it with care,’ A means ‘Avoid unnecessary risk,’ T suggests that the wearer must ‘Travel with a friend, ‘ while most won’t like it, the C stands for ‘Cover it up. The most important advice in the acronym is H- Hand it over if threatened. “The recent spike in high-value watch crime in London has gathered a lot of attention both within the watch industry and the mainstream media. Much of the coverage is alarmist and could easily put people off buying expensive watches,” explained Adrian Hailwood, head of watches at Watchcollecting.com.
“At Watch Collecting, we care about our community and, rather than scaring them, look to provide practical support. For the last two weeks, we have been running a public safety campaign around the West End of London. Our digital billboard film highlights the problem and offers simple steps to staying safe,” Mr. Hailwood explained. “If it prevents one person from becoming a victim of crime, it is worth it,” Mr. Hailwood said. Watch Collecting has been treading on a different path from the word go. Always focused on making life simpler for clients, the low-cost, high touch 24/7 online auction platform Watch Collecting made buying and selling watches as simple as ever. The platform lists high-resolution images of the watch for sale, complete with angles, details, the box, and any paperwork. The watch can go from initial inquiry to a live auction listing viewed by over 70 countries in a few days.
