The changing reality of wearing a watch in New York City
Ricardo SimeIt’s a Saturday morning in New York City. For years, I’ve enjoyed the comfort and privacy of driving around the city as my form of transportation. But this Saturday I want to avoid having to pay the prices of a parking garage. So for the first time in what feels like forever, I’m about to hop on the subway. And for the first time, I am highly conscious of the watch on my wrist.
Years ago, when I first got into this hobby, the possibility of someone stealing the watch off my wrist was the last thing on my mind. Back then, I wanted to show the world what I was wearing. The watch on my wrist was an extension of myself. It signposted my likes and my sense of style. It said quite a bit about me before a word escaped my lips. Furthermore, I believed this was only a worry for those who wore expensive brands like Rolex and Patek Phillippe. What would anyone want with my sub 1K watch?
In the years since, that mindset has had to change. The average cost of the watch on my wrist has increased. As well as the average cost of the brands I’m shooting in public spaces. Add to that the economically devastating effects of Covid and multiply it by the fact that the population of a small country is living in an area that’s only 302 square miles and you get the picture.
Yet the most significant piece in this perfect storm of watch theft has to be the explosion of the hobby. Thanks to social media, the thieves of today are well aware of the expensive and hyped pieces. And with a ton of information at their fingertips, they’re able to quickly identify what’s on your wrist. And it’s no longer just Rolex and Patek on the “shopping” list. Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and many other brands are getting attention as well.
Which may beg the question from those that know I own no hyped pieces: “What are you worried about?” Especially since on that Saturday in question, I was wearing my much beloved Grand Seiko. Well, the moment I stepped on that train, looked down on my wrist and saw how the zaratsu polishing was catching the light, an alarm bell rang in my head. From a distance, a thief couldn’t be sure what I was wearing. Which could lead to an encounter I wasn’t in a rush to have.
So as inconspicuously as possible, I lowered the cuff on my jacket. I then stood near the closest door and had my guard up the rest of the ride. I didn’t feel completely safe until I was in a room with dozens of people attending the watch event I was traveling to.
Looking back, I sometimes feel I overreacted. Yet at the same time, with so many watch theft stories out there, I’m not sure that I did. Because for those of us living in a large city such as New York, times have changed. Gone are the days where you felt completely comfortable wearing an expensive watch out and about. You now have to be very mindful of your surroundings. That’s just the new reality we live in.