Sad today for me: The theft of most my Seiko watch collection please keep an eye out

[Lyons]

No thankfully. I think I disturbed them when the cat disturbed me and I put him out. Some watches were left in the 2nd draw down so something must have stopped them stealing the lot.

I still look in the top draw hoping to see them but alas its still very empty.

At least that's something, no money, cars etc. And ultimately they didn't harm you or your family in the process.

[Henk Hoving]

A horrible thing, I'll keep an eye out on this side of the pond. Luckily you are OK, and the cat.

[Melt]

Thanks for the kind words fellow watch enthusiast its appreciated and its good to know this community cares and will help out.

[t43er]

Ouch.
On the bright side, you are safe so that's the important part.

[AllyWheels]

Very sorry to hear of your loss. I hope that you will have them all returned to you eventually.

Like others here have suggested, it appears to have been a very targeted burglary and most likely to have been carried out by someone who knew about the contents of your study.

You say you had work carried out in your study recently, and that you then used the study to house your watch collection? Did you mention this potential use of your study to the work people you had build it for you?

Anyway, I will keep a look out also.

[MikeP]

Awful. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[B Caine]

So sorry to hear this mate, hope they catch them and you get them back soon.

[mikeeb1]

Terrible news so sorry. I hope you get them back and something bad happens to the scumbags that had them.

[Dent99]

I'm truly sorry to hear this and the watches aside, it offends me far more that people think nothing of invading peoples homes, and whilst they sleep no less. Something like that would bother me for a good while I'm sure.

Anyway, at least it WAS watches - in the grand scheme of things they pale to the safety of yourself and your family. Glad to read it was nothing worse.

I hope you have some good luck recovering your pieces.

[Glen Goyne]

What a shame. Stunning collection you had gathered there. Hope they catch them, many of those watches are special to WIS mostly.

[scooter]

Very sorry for you.

I hope they catch them and your watches get returned.

scooter

[clemenry]

Very sorry to hear of your loss, theiving lowlife really do make my blood boil.

I do echo what has been mentioned before, this does sound like they knew what they were looking for so if you have had any contractors / workmen in recently that may have seen you go to the collection then thats a possibility

I hope you get some good news soon that they have managed to catch the culprit(s) and your property returned.

R

[andy tims]

What a bummer!

[Ivo-ST]

Very sad. Hope that you will recover it.

[Tim63]

That is such a depressing thread to read, my sympathies to the OP. After such an awful event I'd imagine the love for all things watch related may dim significantly. Hope you are able to bounce back.

[buddy13]

so sorry for you mate...may they get caught!

[NIGELW]

Sorry to hear that,

I feel your pain, was broken into couple of months back.
Luckily no watches taken they did not even open the
box from the back of my wardrobe just tosses it across
the room. Took all my wifes gold jewellery instead.

Guess what 4.0pm on a Monday afternoon & nobody noticed a thing !!!!!!

[daveyw]

Thanks for the kind words fellow watch enthusiast its appreciated and its good to know this community cares and will help out.

I'm not a million miles away from you. Will keep my eye out for you. Gutted for you for too

[chester]

Sorry to hear of your loss. If I was to tell you my thoughts about people who nick stuff I would probably get banned off the forum but I'm sure you can guess.
I once had some of my tools filched and it was only when I came to use one and couldn't find it that I realised that it had been "liberated" so don't expect to remember everything that's missing straight off.
As you re-build the collection take photos of the watches so that you can show the police and insurance what's gone

[Cypjon]

What a nightmare! I really hope you manage to track at least a few down. I would hate to think how long it took you to acquire such a collection. Good luck and am pleased it never turned nasty.

Is it just me or are we having deja vu here? Isn't this the second watch burglary in recent weeks on this forum?
????

Yes I read that as well. A couple of Rolex amongst others taken and nothing else from the house.

[Jack's Creation]

Hope you manage to get them back

[893bet]

Have you insurance?

Tricky claim as so difficult to attribute value to each item.

[skipppy]

ahhh mate that is gutting... some lovely watches there. :(

[Seiko7A38]

But I'm sure the theft of the best part of Merritt's Seiko collection has got us all thinking ....

Not only about the security of our personal collections, but what we write about them in the public domain.

I happened to check my forum's control panel this afternoon and noticed an incoming search by a new visitor:



Call me paranoid if you like, but why would anyone be searching the Net on 'old Seiko collectors' ?

The blog introduction on my website, which they found and presumably read, doesn't come up in a Virgin Media search result until the top of page 10. (Using Google it's at the bottom of page 12).

Someone may be looking to steal again.

[Melt]

Thanks for this information.

Now I am getting strangely paranoid.

I keep saying the cat woke me stopped more stuff being nicked.

But could I really have been targeted.

There have been a few robberies in the street over the last month.

Its a interesting lead though.

[ach5]

Sorry to hear about this - the psychological aspect of the intrusion is the hardest to deal with.

Still, at least you can use the insurance money to get a proper watch, like a Rolex















;-) TFIC!

[robert75]

But I'm sure the theft of the best part of Merritt's Seiko collection has got us all thinking ....

Not only about the security of our personal collections, but what we write about them in the public domain.

I happened to check my forum's control panel this afternoon and noticed an incoming search by a new visitor:



Call me paranoid if you like, but why would anyone be searching the Net on 'old Seiko collectors' ?

The blog introduction on my website, which they found and presumably read, doesn't come up in a Virgin Media search result until the top of page 10. (Using Google it's at the bottom of page 12).

Someone may be looking to steal again.

Don't take this the wrong way but what value would a Seiko collection have to a potential thief? I would have thought a collection like this would have more sentimental than monetary value.

[gregory]

I often wonder.


We buy watches from random strangers on forums, and give them our addresses. Sometimes, we have also put SOTC threads up.

I have bought umpteen watches over the years... my address could be in the hands of any number of undesirable people.

I know that the probability of this is ULTRA rare, but look at thread of the guy who answers WTB's on here... and then takes your money. He obviously has no watch. But collects anyway.

Or Smellybeaver or whatever his name is... taking the money from 3 x people for a Panerai strap.



You just never, NEVER know.



Greg.

[Bernard]

The risk of break ins and burglary is the reason I only have some watches at home.

Most are in the bank vault, the ones at home are either on my wrist or in the (hidden) built in safe.

On top of that we have an alarm and two rather big dogs.

[jellytots]

I feel your sense of injustice and loss - i too have had a very nice cerakoted Tutima chrono stolen in transit from Singapore to the US - hope these bloody bastards get their reckoning.

[golf]

That's devastating, really horrible thing to have happen.

I know you think you disturbed them and perhaps I'm missing something, but it seems odd they went straight for your drawer of watches, unless they knew exactly where they were. Have you had anyone in the house lately you wouldn't normally? Trades people or anything like that? Otherwise it seems even more targeted?

He dose say some where up he had a new study built. Maybe builder ?
Did you talk to him about watches ?
Did he see your draw?

"So below is the last draw picture I took before reorganising them in a nice new study I had built. Some were not taken thankfully like my avatar watch and some bells and 6105's, 6117's"

Just a thought lee

[golf]

Oops replied with out reading whole thread already mentioned above.

[Rodder]

So sorry to hear this, at least you are ok, could have been so much worse.

Do you mind me asking how they got in?

I have double glazing, good locks (5 lever etc), monitored alarm etc. Do people think this is safe or could a burglar get straight threw all this?

I know a burglar can get in anywhere but is this enough to put him off.

[seikokiller]

I don't think people would target a collector of vintage seikos. You're not going to get a lot of money for them, unless you have somebody very specific in mind who you can pass them on to.

[Liam1288]

sorry to hear that mate... hope you get them or most of them back but as people have said it could've been worse.

[Dougal]

Do you mind me asking how they got in?

I have double glazing, good locks (5 lever etc), monitored alarm etc. Do people think this is safe or could a burglar get straight threw all this?

I know a burglar can get in anywhere but is this enough to put him off.

A lot depends whether you've a weak point or not. The Met Police's 'Operation Bumblebee' website gives good info, as does TheCrimePreventionWebsite.com . The latter has an online survey, which will advise you how secure your house is and alert you to any weaknesses.

[garmee]

I'm guessing no progress so far?

Would love to see some sort of positive outcome, no matter how slim the chances seem.

[mk1974]

According to today's news you should do your own policing

[gcleminson]

Probably unrelated but someone over on thewatchforum posted a pic yesterday from an ebay seller who is selling off a large collection of seiko divers as a job lot. Like I say, prob just coincidence but maybe worth a look. Unfortunately don't have a link as it was only a pic that was posted.

[alan2273]

Link to the E-Bay posting.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEIKO-VINT...item1c489b20a5

[ShaunR]

I’ve been a member for a few years now but don’t post that much.
Just want to say sorry to hear about the theft of your watches.
I am in the jewellery trade and am surprised how little we get to hear of thefts from private individuals/collectors from the police authority, it always seems to be the high street jeweller who are unfortunate enough to be robbed that we hear about.
There are some exceptions, North Yorkshire would occasionally send out the odd letter regarding thefts but they were at least two months out of date by the time we got them.

I have recently opened a jewellers in Monmouth, I have contacted the local police asking if there is a list of stolen property that traders can keep a look out for …….i’m still waiting!

I would be more than happy for anyone who is unfortunate enough to have had a theft to send me their list. I do get offered a number of watches, you never know !

[alexaff]

I’ve been a member for a few years now but don’t post that much.
Just want to say sorry to hear about the theft of your watches.
I am in the jewellery trade and am surprised how little we get to hear of thefts from private individuals/collectors from the police authority, it always seems to be the high street jeweller who are unfortunate enough to be robbed that we hear about.
There are some exceptions, North Yorkshire would occasionally send out the odd letter regarding thefts but they were at least two months out of date by the time we got them.

I have recently opened a jewellers in Monmouth, I have contacted the local police asking if there is a list of stolen property that traders can keep a look out for …….i’m still waiting!

I would be more than happy for anyone who is unfortunate enough to have had a theft to send me their list. I do get offered a number of watches, you never know !

Hi mate,

Are you insured with TH March? If so, they will provide you with info via safergems.

Regards,

Al

[ShaunR]

Hi,

I'm not with T H March but i do get the Safergems list but it is still not that great.
I understand that there are a huge number of thefts with a large amount of property stolen every day and not everything can be covered but still something would be better than nothing !

[watchthisspace]

Sorry to read this. I know nothing about Seiko but that seems quite a collection

Hope there's a positive outcome

[Jimmcb]

Hi Melt

this is horrific and really feel for you here

Sorry if my questions below raise the whole spectre again BUT

1. was it just the watches that they took
2. how did they gain access to the house
3. was their entry point giving direct access to the watches
4. have you had any visitors to the house that you can't account for e.g. utilities workers
5. what floor of the house are the watches located on?
6. If you have a window cleaner is it possible they could be seen from the windows

Jim