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Franken Bumblebee stolen :(

Miguel Piguet

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Sorry to hear that. Was considering to bring my AP to London. Well, better safe than sorry.

I wouldn't say it's the Country as it can happen anywhere . Certain cities are safer than others like Dubai, Monaco etc but most cities in general, it can happen. Always thought "Bernie Ecclestone" (F1 tycoon) was mugged in Monaco (which is relatively safe) for his Hublot that became an ad but just realised it was actually in London too.... There are bad people everywhere unfortunately . Be safe , enjoy your London trip.
 

TimeDelux

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10/5/14
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It happens. Not it feels like s**t in 3 Months you will be happy nothing happens to you.

But they might be in for a fun time when they try to flip it. If somebody knows what they are doing these guys are in for trouble trying to flip a fake ????????


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androme

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Sorry to hear this. As someone who works and lives in London, it’s a shocker of a place and you have to keep your wits about you. Do you mind me asking what part and if you reported it? You can technically claim on insurance if you have that type of cover and you declared it to a specific value but then again they might try dispute the claim. As others have said, look after your mental well-being. London is rough but at the same time, please don’t let it put you off. It is a beautiful city.
 
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tosoboso

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Legion sorry to hear about your accident. You should really forget about the watch and just enjoy life and try to stay safe even if that means not wearing watches at night. Unlike others, I’d strongly disagree about all cities being similarly unsafe. London is a stab city, every year it loses 100+ young people to meaningless knife crime and the gangsters are really growing bolder by the cuts in policing and the like. It is after all a place that commonly see sledgehammer attacks on high end watch and jewellery stores that often times sit just across large police stations. In the grand scheme of life losing a watch, franken or not, is nothing compared to unforgiving reality in this city. As someone who also lives and works there, I find it that people are growing more and more complacent about the real troubles here. Early signs are that it is becoming the NYC of the 90ies, just closer to continental Europe.

On a side note, it is precisely the above that keeps me in the business of building frankens. While I love AP design ethos, I don’t feel it right to walk around with a £20k watch on the wrist in general in this particular place :( But I do enjoy my frankens still
 

Ecender

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I’m sorry for what happened to you and I appreciate for sharing it, as we all must be careful while walking around with our belongings.
 
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TimeDelux

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Legion sorry to hear about your accident. You should really forget about the watch and just enjoy life and try to stay safe even if that means not wearing watches at night. Unlike others, I’d strongly disagree about all cities being similarly unsafe. London is a stab city, every year it loses 100+ young people to meaningless knife crime and the gangsters are really growing bolder by the cuts in policing and the like. It is after all a place that commonly see sledgehammer attacks on high end watch and jewellery stores that often times sit just across large police stations. In the grand scheme of life losing a watch, franken or not, is nothing compared to unforgiving reality in this city. As someone who also lives and works there, I find it that people are growing more and more complacent about the real troubles here. Early signs are that it is becoming the NYC of the 90ies, just closer to continental Europe.

On a side note, it is precisely the above that keeps me in the business of building frankens. While I love AP design ethos, I don’t feel it right to walk around with a £20k watch on the wrist in general in this particular place :( But I do enjoy my frankens still

I could not agree more. Sad to see london go this route. :(
Lucky that it was just a robbing and not more. Took me 6 months to understand that it was a good thing I was not in my apartment when they came in and took all my gens, laptops ......




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farravi

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Sorry to hear that especially as I’m a Londoner myself.

As echoed by other caring members here, it could have been a worst outcome as I know quite a few who didn’t make it after they were mugged in broad day light in central London.

London has become a haven for opportunist and unfortunately it seems to be getting worse. The police whether patrolling or not don’t care as they consider low on the priority list, instead they look for cases where they themselves or their departments can profit from crime proceeds or the likes do red route parking, camped on roads to catch drivers speeding or without insurance.

I take into consideration where and when I wear my AP’s when going out and wouldn’t wear if on a night out, exception is when I’m driving or being driven to a nice restaurant.


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maison888

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Sorry to hear that and I hope you came out OK.

It seems like these incidents are occurring more and more often because these luxury items/brands are becoming more relevant through social media. People who never had an interest in watches (or other luxury goods) all of a sudden know what APs or Pateks are.

I myself don't wear my gen/rep on a daily basis (not even to the office) because no matter they are genuine or not it will attract attention. You might not think you're going to a "bad" area but at the end of the day with the lavish lifestyle being promoted through social media, people are getting increasingly desperate to obtain these things.

On a lighter note, you can always purchase another one here :D and didn't lose a $2x,xxx watch.
 
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Hinclimincli

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Londoner here too, I was just browsing the AP forum and stumbled upon this. Really sorry about what happened to you too mate, but happy that you ended up well. Especially now that anyone can pull a big knife and have zero respect for human life. I must say I mostly leave all my reps at home when I go out (which is rarely, being a father of two). But it's a shame we have to that as ultimately we wear our watches with pride and being intimidated into not wearing them is something that should make many people think (yes, politicians, I'm talking about you).

​​​
 
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m1994

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Too bad to hear this, as everyone mention the important thing here it´s that you are well. Recently in the "Parekaholic" IG account, he has published many London cases that show the theft of many watch owners (mostly AP), so we must be very careful and see who is around us.

Lately I have had more care of the watches that I use for each situation, since a similar situation happened to me in which two people stole my 15400. For me the problem was not to lose my AP that I loved so much, the issue I had was the fear of what could happen if thieves acted differently. Now I try to use my watches for situations in which I do not feel exposed, or use watches that are not as flashy and known as AP / Rolex / Hublot, etc.

Before when I left my house I worried if someone noticed the dw font on my watch, now it is my last concern that I have haha

It is a hard situation, but speaking for me, I will not stop using watches, so I just need to be more careful, and know where and when. Last week I bought a Calatrava PP that unlike an AP, many (including my girlfriend) might think it's a Daniel Welington hehe
 

Acurtisttu

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Sucks to hear stuff like this. How big of a person are you? I've always felt my size keep most criminals away. Not that I stand a chance against a gun or a knife.
 

bill33

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Sucks to hear stuff like this. How big of a person are you? I've always felt my size keep most criminals away. Not that I stand a chance against a gun or a knife.

What does it matter? Kids in London don’t give a fuck how big you are. They’ll still rob you at knifepoint if they see easy money.

Sorry to hear this OP.
 

QueTip

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What does it matter? Kids in London don’t give a fuck how big you are. They’ll still rob you at knifepoint if they see easy money.

Sorry to hear this OP.

This x100
 

Acurtisttu

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What does it matter? Kids in London don’t give a fuck how big you are. They’ll still rob you at knifepoint if they see easy money.

Sorry to hear this OP.

Criminals are typically lazy roaches of most societies....theyll choose the easier lookin path.
 
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legend

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Sucks to hear stuff like this. How big of a person are you? I've always felt my size keep most criminals away. Not that I stand a chance against a gun or a knife.

Physical size can be intimidating in some situations I agree, like in spontaneous physical conflicts. But if someone wants to rob you at knife or gunpoint, it won’t matter.


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Hinclimincli

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Criminals are typically lazy roaches of most societies....theyll choose the easier lookin path.

Check the list of fatal stabbings in UK and you'll see quite a few big fellas there. Sadly I don't think it will stop anyone if they want to take your watch.

I don't go for drinks anymore, but if I did I would probably leave the most flashy pieces at home and go just with my more understated ones.
​​​​​
 

chris12345

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Would like to see their faces when they are trying to sell it as gen what they supposed to be.
Then they will get trouble.


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legend

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Would like to see their faces when they are trying to sell it as gen what they supposed to be.
Then they will get trouble.


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Actually.. there is an unknown (but likely small) percentage of frankens or even modded reps being sold as used gens.
I have personally seen 2-3 franken ROOs being sold as gen myself. In one case, I told the shop owner to remove the caseback cover and it was a Hamilton movement inside.
In the another case, the shop owner acted like he did not care one way or another when he was informed. So.. the issue could be with him.
So these frankens get passed along "without box and papers" classically, and sometimes the wearer is simply not aware that he is wearing a rep, just because a reputable secondhand dealer sold the watch to him.
It does happen, and given the fact that the watch is a franken bumblebee, it will be even harder to distinguish it from the gen by someone with insufficient knowledge or experience.
 

Spitfire63

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Watch probably won't be sold, the muggers will swap it for drugs that they will either use themselves or most probably sell on, it's easier for street scum to sell small amounts of drugs to convert to cash than sell an expensive watch. The watch will then be worn by one of the wannabe gangsta drug gang posing on Facebook and Instagram.
 

Flinnt

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I was also thinking they're likely to trade it with a drug dealer. If the drug dealer finds it's worth a whole lot less than they first bargained for, someone is going to get broken legs. Justice may prevail in one tiny aspect.