Latest news with #luxurywatch
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Moment Labour Lord has luxury £200k watch snatched off wrist before robbers flee in speedboat in horror holiday mugging
THIS is the moment a Labour Lord has his £200,000 luxury watch ripped from his wrist — before the thieves make a Hollywood-style escape on a speedboat. Dramatic footage shows Lord Ara Darzi being ambushed while strolling through a narrow street on the glitzy Italian island of Capri. 4 4 4 The Labour peer was walking near the famed Piazzetta around 10.30pm on Sunday when two robbers struck. In the grainy video, Darzi is seen walking among a crowd outside a shop when a man in a white t-shirt lurks close by, positioning himself behing the unsuspecting lord. Suddenly, the man lunges forward and snatches the ultra-rare Richard Mille timepiece from Darzi's wrist. Another man, wearing red, bolts alongside the thief as the stunned 65-year-old gives chase in disbelief. According to local police, the two men had stalked Darzi along the upscale Via Camerelle before launching their lightning-fast attack. After the heist, the thieves sprinted through the picturesque Gardens of Augustus and down the serpentine Via Krupp trail — before hopping aboard a speedboat moored in Marina Piccola, vanishing into the night. The brazen snatch-and-dash has shocked locals and tourists alike on the island long known for its luxury — and its low crime rate. Lord Darzi told the Daily Mail on Monday: "I'm currently on holiday with my family in Capri after what has been a very busy year in the NHS. "Last night, I was robbed by two men who snatched a watch I was wearing. Mourad Aid targets Jenson Button's wife in robbery "We were all shaken up, but thankfully no one was hurt. "The watch was a gift from the father of a patient whose life I saved six years ago." He added: "Sadly, like too many Brits abroad, I've now experienced street crime firsthand. "My advice to fellow holidaymakers is simple: be careful and leave your valuables at home." The watch — a Richard Mille, reportedly worth €300,000 (approx. £253,000) — is a grail-level timepiece worn by elite figures like Elon Musk and Jay-Z. The brand only manufactures around 5,000 watches annually, sold exclusively to an ultra-connected clientele. Darzi, who is also a professor at Imperial College London and co-director of the British Institute of Public Health, had been spending a few days on his yacht in the Gulf of Naples before the robbery. Italian media described the crime as 'record-breaking,' calling the thieves 'specialists' with a knack for instantly recognising high-value targets. One report from Il Mattino warned: 'It was enough to make Capri lose its reputation as the island most free from crime.' Investigators are now combing through security footage to piece together the daring getaway. The shocking attack follows another high-profile theft last month, when a British man had his £43,000 Rolex stolen while sitting in his £250,000 Lamborghini during a supercar rally in Barcelona. The robbers made off on an e-scooter before the driver could react.
The National
3 days ago
- The National
Former UK minister Lord Darzi robbed of £175,000 Richard Mille watch on Capri
Renowned surgeon and former UK minister Lord Darzi was robbed of his rare luxury watch during a holiday on the Italian island of Capri. The theft happened on Sunday evening near the island's main piazza as Lord Darzi and friends walked along Via Vittorio Emanuele, an upmarket street lined with designer shops, as they returned to his yacht. Two men attacked Lord Darzi and stole his Richard Mille RM 07 watch, valued at more than £175,000, from his wrist before escaping on a waiting motorboat, police said. Lord Darzi was not injured in the attack. Police are studying CCTV of the incident and have released images of two casually dressed men. Ara Darzi, 65, holds the Paul Hamlyn chair of surgery at Imperial College London, the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. He was knighted for his services to medicine and surgery in 2002 before being made a peer in 2007 when he joined Gordon Brown's government at a health minister. Speaking to MailOnline, Lord Darzi said his family were 'all shaken up' by the incident which happened while they were on holiday after 'a very busy year in the NHS'. 'The watch was a gift from the father of a patient whose life I saved six years ago,' he said. 'Sadly, like too many Brits abroad, I've now experienced street crime first hand. My advice to fellow holidaymakers is simple: be careful and leave your valuables at home.' Capri's mayor, Paolo Falco offered his sympathies to Lord Darzi 'on behalf of the entire administration and citizens' and 'our full willingness to co-operate with the investigation'. Mr Falco stressed such incidents were rare on the island, which is known as a popular destination for wealthy holidaymakers. 'What happened is certainly an anomaly for an island that is, and remains, profoundly safe and welcoming,' he said in a statement. 'Indeed, we fear that this was a targeted and planned action. In any case, we will strengthen security measures, even in the most central and tourist-frequented areas.'
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Lord Darzi robbed of €200,000 watch on Capri holiday
Lord Darzi was robbed of his €200,000 watch by thieves while he was on holiday on the Italian island of Capri. Lord Darzi, 65, a surgeon and former health minister, was relaxing with friends when he was targeted by two thieves as he left the island's main piazza around 10.30pm on Sunday. They were followed by two men as they walked along the Via Vittorio Emanuele street, which is lined with designer shops, towards Lord Darzi's yacht, which was moored offshore. Police said the thieves suddenly ran towards the group and grabbed the peer's Richard Mille watch, estimated to be worth more than €200,000 (£175,000), from his wrist. The thieves then fled down the street and through the nearby Augustus Gardens to a waiting motorboat in the small bay known as Marina Piccola. Lord Darzi does not appear to have been injured in the attack. Police are checking for CCTV video and have released images of two casually dressed men in shirts and shorts captured by the cameras. The Armenian-British surgeon, who holds the Paul Hamlyn chair of surgery at Imperial College, was understood to have been on holiday in the Gulf of Naples on his private yacht for several days. He visited the island's central piazza, which is surrounded by bars and restaurants, days after Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, partied there with his wife, Carrie. The attack on Lord Darzi raises questions about security, particularly on the island of Capri, which is a magnet for the world's rich and famous, especially in the summer months. The island has a reputation for attracting VIPs and Hollywood billionaire Jeff Bezos and his new wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, visited Capri recently, and the Hollywood actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon have also been spotted on the island off the coast of Naples. Paolo Falco, Capri's mayor, declined to speak to The Telegraph but told Italian media that the island was safe enough 'to sleep with your doors open'. 'What happened is certainly an anomaly for an island that is and remains profoundly safe and welcoming,' he told the daily, La Repubblica. 'Indeed, we fear that it was a targeted and planned action. In any case, we will strengthen security measures, even in the most central and touristically frequented areas.' There is growing concern about violent attacks elsewhere in Italy, however, as tourism and hospitality continue to boom across the country. In July last year, thieves stole a diamond-studded Rolex watch from a tourist after tailing her down Rome's main shopping street, Via del Corso, and punching her in the stomach. Late last year, a 30-year-old German tourist was robbed at knifepoint by three teenagers who stole his wallet containing several hundred euros near the Colosseum.
South China Morning Post
02-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Style Edit: The new Santos de Cartier Petit Modèle reanimates in mini form an iconic 1904 design that was the precursor of the modern wristwatch – one designed for early aviators
Cartier's latest watch is small, square and has pedigree, with its roots reaching far back in time. Showcasing the French jeweller's ingenuity , the new small model Santos de Cartier reanimates an emblematic design that has epitomised pioneering watchmaking since 1904. It was then that Louis Cartier and his friend, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, conceived a wristwatch for early aeronauts that carried the pioneering pilot's name and afforded them precise timing in the cockpit at a glance, saving them from having to fish around in their jackets for their pocket watch. The Santos de Cartier small model in steel. Photo: Handout Considered the first modern wristwatch when offered to the public in 1911, the original Santos was as daring as those magnificent pilots in their flying machines that inspired it. Rejecting the roundness of the pocket watch, it boldly sported a square bezel and a mechanical aesthetic: the eight screws securing the bezel were left proudly visible rather than hidden as was the norm. Advertisement The new model Santos de Cartier in yellow gold and steel. Photo: Handout The strong, uncompromising form of the 1904 Santos-Dumont enabled Cartier's watchmakers to lead the industry in the creation of new watch shapes, while its purity of line and precision of proportion invited them to soar ahead with new interpretations. Decades later, in 1978, the Santos de Cartier line debuted and, in tune with the times, it embraced a sports watch approach. An integrated metal bracelet replaced the leather strap of the original pilot's watch. One model was crafted in steel rather than precious metal – a fashionable new attitude for a luxury maison; while a gleaming bimetal version in steel accented with a yellow-gold bezel and screws also turned heads. The Santos de Cartier small model in yellow gold and steel. Photo: Handout Cartier steered this ever-evolving watch from horological icon to cult object. Famously, Michael Douglas ' corporate raider Gordon Gekko wore a gold Cartier Santos in the 1987 film Wall Street. Among more recent innovations, a Santos de Cartier became the brand's first skeleton watch. The Santos de Cartier small model in yellow gold. Photo: Handout Now landing in Hong Kong, the Santos de Cartier Petit Modèle encapsulates this century and more of watchmaking invention and reinvention. Slimmed down from larger models to a neat 27mm by 34.5mm, its dimensions echo the earliest versions of the watch. Fitted with a high-autonomy quartz movement rather than a mechanical engine, it emphasises fine proportions and adds a more sophisticated sunray dial effect. Glints of blue on the familiar sword-shaped hands and tip of the seven-sided crown offer contrast to the pristine landscape of the silvered dial, and the bezel and bracelet offered in either steel, yellow gold, or a mix of the two. Each of the trio comes with an alternate leather strap – alligator for the all-gold model or calfskin for the others. So, just like the pioneering adventurers of old, you can strap up and then reach for the sky.
Times
31-05-2025
- Business
- Times
This Manchester club house is shaking up the luxury watch market
Want to buy a luxury watch, like a Rolex, Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet? You just walk into a shop and buy one, don't you? Actually, no. Not only are brands such as these producing models in such limited numbers that they inevitably struggle to keep up with demand, but Audemars Piguet has now made the decision to move away from the conventional store-based retail model. Enter an alternative: AP House, which is a private members' club-style hybrid — think luxurious interiors, chillout zones, hospitality that would rival any five-star hotel and a gentle, softly-softly selling approach. What's more, everyone's invited. It's a concept that the Swiss watchmaker rolled out in 2017 and now it has AP Houses around the world including in places as far-flung as St Barts, Seoul and Mexico City. London has one, although you may not know it, elevated as it is on the first floor above an unrelated store on New Bond Street. Now it's Manchester's turn. Hot on the heels of the city's cultural resurgence — it hosted the Chanel Métiers d'Art show in December 2023, and its own Soho House is opening in a few months — AP has settled on this northern metropolis to open the 23rd house in its roster. It is, of course, an area that attracts significant wealth (footballers being the obvious trope) and you'll need Premier League-level deep pockets to buy an AP — its most iconic model, the Royal Oak, has a starting price point of £22,700 and can easily soar into a six-figure sum. 'We've been looking for a suitable location for our clients outside London for a while,' says Daniel Compton, the brand's UK general manager. 'People tend to gravitate to Manchester when they're doing their luxury shopping — already we've had visitors from as far north as Glasgow [the House soft launched in May], while nearby we have Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and the Cheshire belt below us.' The House is exactly that — a double-fronted Georgian residence on King Street that dates from 1736. AP found the site in 2022 and instructed Johnson Pinney Architects to extensively remodel the 425 sq m interior while preserving its grand grade II listed exterior, structure and period features. As with all AP Houses, touches of the home city run through the design scheme. On entering the reception area an art installation by the artist Michelle McKinney echoes the leaves of the black poplar tree, aka the Manchester poplar, common in the city thanks to its ability to tolerate air pollution. The Manchester bee, a symbol of the city's industriousness since 1842, is alluded to in the honeycomb shape of the watch display cases, while fabric lines the walls in reference to its history of cotton production. On the first floor a music room pays homage to Manchester's music scene with artwork from Factory Records (the city's pioneering record label and founder of the Haçienda nightclub), a display of vinyl on the wall and turntables should any guest fancy a spin behind the decks. Across the landing is a dining room and bar serving, by the end of the year, AP's own draught beer made in collaboration with a local independent brewery, in a nod to northern pub culture. Up another flight of stairs to a games room and visitors will find a luxury version of shove ha'penny and a darts board. A roof terrace leads off it with views across the city's industrial-era red-brick buildings. But why bother with all of this? Surely a bricks-and-mortar conventional retail model would suffice. The luxury commentator and watch expert Ming Liu explains the rationale behind it. 'By having Houses around the globe, AP are able to provide a holistic 360 approach to their customers. They may be a watch brand but the product is only one side of it. They're also very aware that their customer travels and that they have different touch points in their lives — whether Manchester, Hong Kong or London. It makes sense to have somewhere they feel comfortable and can connect with other watch lovers, bring their friends, socialise and relax. The concept is about making clients feel at home, spending longer with them and educating them on watchmaking and AP in particular.' But is everyone invited, really? It sounds like a concept too good to be true. 'We welcome all, we encourage walk-ins,' Compton says, 'and we want newcomers.' As for the current AP clients — those who Compton describes as 'part of the AP family and a mix of old industrial families from the northwest and those who've made their success more recently, including from the media and sport' — they can expect an enhanced level of hospitality. Meanwhile in London plans are afoot for a new, bigger version of the House and an AP branded hoarding has been spotted outside a townhouse in Mayfair. Compton won't be drawn on exact timeframes, but it won't be long before the capital has a similar venue to rival that of Manchester. Watch this space. AP House Manchester, 35 King Street, M2 7AT, @thediamondedit
