Luxury Watches: A Growing Target for Thieves on the Côte d’Azur
In 2024, luxury watch thefts surged significantly in the Alpes-Maritimes region, with criminals making off with valuables exceeding €8 million. This worrying trend involves carefully orchestrated attacks, often carried out with remarkable speed and sometimes violence, followed by rapid escapes on scooters into the surrounding hills.
Methods and Targets of Theft
Thieves target both pedestrians and specialized watch stores. Monaco, previously shielded from such crimes due to its extensive CCTV network, has experienced notable thefts in 2024, signaling an alarming shift.
Key Incidents in Monaco
- On 29 May, Monaco Watch Company suffered a dramatic six-minute armed robbery, resulting in the loss of watches worth over €4 million.
- On 12 November, The Watch Project was raided swiftly, with four watches stolen within minutes.
Thefts Beyond Retail Stores
- In April, American tennis player Sebastian Korda was attacked and robbed of a €300,000 Richard Mille watch in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
- In late August, a student from Nice was caught attempting to exchange a counterfeit Rolex for a genuine watch valued at €48,000 at the Hôtel de Paris; he was arrested at Place du Casino and sentenced to four months in prison.
"The same scenario is replaying with worrying regularity. Thieves conduct careful surveillance, a lightning-quick, sometimes violent strike, then a getaway by scooter into the hills."
Luxury watch thefts have become an escalating problem requiring increased vigilance from both authorities and the public.
Summary: The Côte d’Azur faces a sharp rise in luxury watch robberies, with skilled criminals executing swift, violent heists on both individuals and shops, including high-profile crimes in Monaco in 2024.