London watch robberies
A woman is attacked in Chelsea for her watch.

London police record 621 robberies of luxury watches in first half of 2022

Soaring value of watches from the likes of Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Rolex are prompting a dramatic rise in street robberies.

London’s Metropolitan Police report there have been 621 robberies of luxury watches in the first seven months of this year.

Almost one third of them were in the West End, Belgravia or Chelsea.

The sharpest rises in the number of watch robberies were in wealthy neighbourhoods of Kensington, Chelsea, Westminster Hammersmith and Fulham, which saw recorded thefts rise by 60% between April and June.

Footage emerged last week of a woman on a street in Chelsea being attacked for her her watch in broad daylight by two masked men wielding knives.

A day earlier, a man in a £3 million Bugatti close to Hyde Park Corner in London had his windows smashed by an attacker on a moped who stole his Rolex watch, reportedly worth £110,000.

Police have promised to add patrols in areas seeing the highest levels of assaults.

“We know the impact these crimes have on each end every victim and that is whey we have extra officers in place in locations where these crimes are most common,” Detective Chief Superintendent Owain Richards told The Daily Telegraph.

Police also advise the public to keep valuables like watches concealed and to be aware of their surroundings.

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