London’s luxury watch crimewave: How thieves hunt the wealthy in seconds and what you can do to protect yourself

A watch can convey style, prestige and elegance. Then there is the sentimental value to the wearer. Perhaps the watch was a gift from a loved one. Maybe it was earned through hard work. It could have been inherited from a family member, or it might reflect a cherished anniversary.

A watch can mean so much. Unfortunately, today a luxury watch, like blood to sharks, can also attract the wrong attention.

In cities across Europe, an expensive high end timepiece can make the owner a highly inviting target for street muggers ready to cause harm.

Victims of such crimes are left having to deal with the loss of a valuable item but, beyond that, they have to recover from the physical pain and the traumatic psychological effects. These experiences can stay with a person for a very long time.

As a specialist in situational awareness training, a major part of my work involves helping individuals avoid becoming victims of hostile scenarios.

My clients could be a high profile figure and their family members, or they could be corporate executives involved in overseas travel or urban commutes. Regardless, there will be key areas we address in training, from how to recognise threats to ways of disengaging from confrontation.

One subject we explore is being able to blend into an environment so you are less likely to be spotted by criminals.

It does feel like a sad reflection on societal instability when you have to tell someone that their beautiful timepiece has the potential to draw in trouble and, in some cases, put their safety at risk. Some people do not want to hear this until something happens. Ultimately, each person must decide how they want to manage and navigate such risks.

When such crimes occur and the expensive watch is stolen, it also leaves a bad impression of the city where the incident took place. As others hear about the attack and news spreads, it can negatively affect the image of the city on a global level.

In September, Malaysian billionaire businessman Vinod Sekhar was ambushed while he was with his wife, Winny Yeap, in Battersea. Mr Sekhar also lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and this incident will certainly make more people both there and in other countries wary about travel within London as well as how they dress when visiting.

I was in Kuala Lumpur in July. Even then I recall people raising questions about London’s crime issues.

If a person chooses to wear an expensive watch, they should do what they can to conceal it when moving about, even in areas perceived to be affluent.

You might say this is just common sense, and I agree. Many of the senior executives I work with are extremely well travelled, intelligent and well briefed.

However, people can feel they are taking sensible precautions, but the issue is they may still underestimate the malicious readiness and intensity of the muggers or gangs.

Sometimes the muggers utilise street spotters who move about expensive areas in low profile mode and constantly keep an eye out for wealthy people with expensive items such as jewellery, handbags, watches or phones.

You can wear long sleeves to reduce the watch being noticed, but there will be other aspects of the person that will be seen as both wealth indicators and vulnerability indicators.

Also, the moment you move to open a car door or go to shake someone’s hand, the glimmer of the watch is enough to convey the brand and value.

In some cases, the spotter or the actual mugger will directly engage in conversation. Watch out for distracting questions that get you to stop moving and may even reveal the concealed timepiece. Typical ones: “Got the time on you?” “Which way is the station?” “Do you have a lighter on you?”

Sometimes the gang may have someone embedded in an expensive venue who then feeds target intelligence to them when the wealthy looking person leaves, or is perhaps sat outside.

Victims are sometimes chosen as they enter or leave their house or vehicle. Vinod Sekhar was targeted just as he exited his car. Others have been ambushed outside venues, in train stations and on pleasant pedestrianised streets.

Recently, an American businessman was jumped and had his watch stolen on a Mayfair street.

There are also situations where people are targeted whilst in their vehicle. In these carjacking scenarios, it could be a robbery involving theft of watches as well as other demands, such as the forced transfer of cryptocurrency.

People are now more informed about this. They are aware that attacks can occur in busy or expensive areas such as Knightsbridge and Mayfair.

They hear news reports about ongoing phone snatches by armed e-bike riding gangs. They know some personal safety measures to make use of.

The thing is though, these incidents often just seem like something that happens to someone else. I understand Mr Sekhar, with a grounded philosophical disposition, did share his thoughts about his mugging experience and seemed keen for others not to fall prey to this type of sudden ambush.

Another thing people need to grasp, and perhaps this accounts for why they sometimes drop their guard, is that these attacks can take place within seconds.

People do not fully comprehend how the aggressors close in with savage speed and an almost apocalyptic disregard for human life. This is why situational awareness has to be developed to a high level now.

Equally important is that we do not put all the focus simply on London’s mugging problem. Other cities in Europe and beyond also face this issue. In Barcelona, people visiting the city often get targeted in popular tourist areas. In some South American regions, tourists get targeted on secluded or poorly lit beachfronts.

A question I sometimes get asked is whether the wearer should keep the watch elsewhere and only put it on at the function or event they attend. The risk here is that the person can easily lose the watch and, if it is kept in a bag, the bag can just as easily get swiped, left somewhere or lost.

One of my associates who sometimes helps me with training courses is a former SBS operative, and he recommends as part of travel safety that people get a concealed pocket sewn into popular travel clothes so that some emergency cash and possibly a spare bank card can be hidden away in case their wallet, purse or bag is stolen or lost.

Some fashion brands may start considering incorporating hidden secure pockets.

In some scenarios, a gang may have carried out an even more in depth gathering of information about a wealthy person, using everything from their social media profile to on the ground surveillance to scope out lifestyle patterns and windows of vulnerability. This is particularly the case with home based burglaries.

Occasionally a spotter might follow a person to see where they are heading or even live, so some useful counter surveillance practices are important.

Consider if someone is giving your table at a restaurant or bar too much attention. Has someone whose face you observed previously in a venue now appeared in the area you have moved to?

Does someone’s presence seem unusual or overly intense? In one case my security associates and I were asked to investigate, the client and his group were sprung upon some distance from the restaurant they had been dining in. It was dark, and it is highly likely the luxury watches were spotted earlier.

One excellent resource is The Watch Register, which maintains an incredibly useful database of lost and stolen watches. Although based in London, this organisation operates on an international level. This matters when you understand how a watch stolen here can very swiftly end up being sold in a very different country.

Another useful tip is to maintain various forms of proof that the luxury watch you purchased belongs to you. If it does get stolen, report it quickly and have all the relevant facts clearly ready for when you contact the insurance company.

It is worth noting that not all aggressive crimes are about the theft of luxury items. There are incidents such as the knife attack on the LNER train and the assault on Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chenneour where it is simply about unleashing violence. I mention this so that even those who are not carrying expensive items also keep their awareness levels up.

The police are now using discreet teams on e-bikes so that they can effectively chase the robbers who use these bikes to get through traffic and get away rapidly from the scene of crime.

Some gang members do end up getting caught, and people are realising now that further precautionary measures must be taken. This is good, and London has a great deal to offer visitors.

Still, in the meantime, if you choose to wear a top of the range watch, or you just want to avoid standard forms of urban crime, keep alert: be watchful, not watchless.

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Aran Dharmeratnam is a private security consultant and an internationally known specialist in self-protection training. Aran is the founder of the Tri-Tier and runs the online security resource From the Hip. He also works with security companies involved in private investigations and risk intelligence.