Latest news with #PatekPhillipe
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
Lift engineer who stole jewellery worth £103k is spared jail
A lift engineer who stole watches and a ring worth £103,000 while servicing a £7m property in Belgravia has walked free from court. Jacques Woods, 25, stole two designer watches and a ring from the address at West Eaton Place on June 28 2021. He was part of a team servicing the property, which stretches over 8,000 square feet and contains a high-speed modern lift. Woods was caught by cleaners poking around bedrooms and other areas that were off-limits to staff. Police were called and he was discovered with photos of the stolen items on his phone. He took a Rolex watch in silver and gold, a Patek Phillipe 715 watch in opaline and gold, and a Cartier love ring in white and rose gold. The value of the haul totalled £103,250 and none of the items have been recovered. Sue Obeney, prosecuting, told Woods's sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court: 'On the Friday before it happened, June 28 being a Monday, the owner went away abroad. 'During that time it seems that Mr Woods availed himself of three high-end items. A Rolex watch described as a silver and gold, a Patek Philippe watch in opaline and gol, and a Cartier love ring in white and rose gold. 'I understand that none of the items were recovered, although the owner did get some reimbursement through insurance. She is somewhat out of pocket. 'He committed these offences due to a drug habit, which became a Class A habit. He effectively sold on these items.' Thief 'is drug-free and rebuilding life' Woods, who represented himself, said: 'That part of my life is quite hazy. Everything I was doing was to pay for a habit. I accept responsibility for what I have done. At the moment I am just trying to put my life back together.' He said he was living in a caravan on a friend's cattle farm and that he was now free of drugs. Sentencing him, Judge Mark Weekes said: 'There must have been some degree of planning. Even for someone of a high net worth, that is a lot of money.' He gave Woods a prison sentence of 12 months, suspended for 18 months, telling him: 'This was serious offending. I am anxious that you should have that sword hanging over your head for that time as it will encourage you to stay out of trouble.' Woods, of Banbury, Oxfordshire, admitted burglary and theft at an earlier hearing. The court heard that he received a community order of 200 hours of unpaid work for a burglary he committed later.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Yahoo
Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he doesn't wear a watch in London anymore amid Rolex mugging surge
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has joined a swath of wealthy individuals who have decided to stop flaunting their luxury watches in London as thousands get stolen every year. A stubborn rise in watch robberies has scared Londoners from showing off their timepieces, and Ratcliffe, who regularly works in the city, has become the most high-profile individual to declare a change in behavior when he's walking in the capital. 'I can't wear a watch in London, and I just need to be a bit wary, a bit careful,' Ratcliffe told the Sunday Times. Ratcliffe, one of the wealthiest people in the U.K., recounted a murder over a Rolex picked up on Ineos's CCTV cameras at the group's headquarters in Knightsbridge. 'He died in a pool of blood because somebody tried to take his Rolex and he resisted. About a year ago we had three guys in hoodies, with machetes, right outside the office, opposite Harrods.' The Ineos CEO and minority owner of Manchester United blamed police officers for failing to adequately deter criminals. 'We don't have enough prison space. I mean, this didn't just happen. We've been talking about the prisons being overcrowded for 10 years.' More than 6,800 watches were reported stolen last year, an increase from more than 6,000 in 2022. Since 2018, some 43,000 watches have been stolen in the capital through burglaries, robberies, and thefts. The wealthy boroughs of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea routinely rank among the highest for robberies. Robbers often target people wearing Patek Phillipe and Rolexes, which sell for a high value on the secondhand market, by offering prospective victims drugs or access to sex workers outside nightclubs before luring them to an alleyway to carry out a robbery. Ratcliffe is one of many wealthy individuals who appear to have shunned flaunting their watches in public for fear of becoming a victim. Valuations for secondhand watches have dipped more than 20% in the last two years, according to the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks the price of the 50 most-traded watches. The decline is largely the result of traders who piled into the market during the COVID-19 pandemic opting to invest elsewhere for better returns. However, the violent theft of watches may also be contributing to falling valuations. In a bid to halt an increase in robberies, Met police officers carried out a series of sting operations against watch thieves in London in 2022 and 2023, going undercover as potential targets of theft while wearing luxury timepieces. The two operations in 2022 and 2023 came after 300 watches worth a total of £4 million were stolen between April and September 2022. One officer would wander alone in a Westminster street at night before being approached by a group of men. Other undercover officers nearby would then jump in once a robbery ensued. The Met says these stings have led to a reduction in watch thefts in Westminster. Editor's note: A version of this story was first published on on August 2024. This story was originally featured on
