How do you reduce the risk of watch theft in London?

A few habits do most to reduce the risk of watch theft in London: keep a valuable watch under a cuff in busy streets, leave it in the safe on days it does not need to be seen, and shorten the moments on the pavement — leaving a shop, a restaurant or a car — when it is on show. Met figures show 97 watch thefts in the first half of 2026 across Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, the boroughs where these offences are most prevalent, down from 213 in the same months of 2025. The Met describes offenders watching passers-by to choose someone, and warns that thieves use mopeds, bikes and e-scooters to snatch valuables. If someone tries to take it, let the watch go: the Met’s advice is not to risk your safety for property. Call 999 if it has just happened, or report it on 101 or online afterwards, and give the police the serial number.

How watch and phone theft usually happens

The Met’s cases describe a recognisable sequence. In one series of watch robberies, detectives found the offenders had watched members of the public to pick out their victims. In another case, a man who had been walking slowly and studying passers-by got on a hire bike, rode up behind a pedestrian and grabbed at his wrist.

The Met’s advice for visitors adds that thieves on mopeds, bikes and e-scooters may ride along the pavement or target people at road crossings. The exposed moments are short and predictable: stepping out of a shop with a bag, a table on a restaurant terrace, the pause at a hotel entrance, the seconds beside an open car door.

Police record a theft directly from a person without force or the threat of it — a phone snatched from a hand, a wallet taken from a pocket or from a bag being carried — as theft from the person, and one using force or the threat of force as robbery. Police.uk publishes both categories by area, and the latest month’s figures within about a mile are in the Local context panel on the Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia and central London pages. They count every theft of that kind, not only watches.

Habits that reduce the risk

The habits below need no change of lifestyle, only a few decisions made before leaving the house or the hotel. Most are already in the Met’s advice for visitors.

What to wear where. A watch that belongs at a private dinner does not need to spend an afternoon on Oxford Street or Sloane Street. The Met’s advice is to keep a valuable wristwatch hidden by a sleeve and expensive purchases out of view, since a branded bag can advertise something worth taking.

When the safe is the better place. Arrival days, shopping days, crowded events and anything involving a long walk or public transport are days for a plainer watch, with the valuable one in the hotel or home safe. Wear it on the evenings that run door to door.

Getting in and out of the car. Have the car at the door before stepping out, not round the corner. Finish the call inside rather than on the kerb, and do not stand beside an open door arranging bags.

Where you sit. Inside rather than on the terrace, and away from the door and the window where the room allows. Keep phones off the table: the Met notes that one can be taken from a table in seconds.

On the pavement. A phone in use shows the phone and the wrist together and takes attention off the street. Look around before using it and put it away afterwards. The Met also suggests facing oncoming traffic as you walk, so a rider leaving the road is seen early.

The way home. If you think someone is following you, do not lead them to your door. Go into a hotel, a busy shop or a restaurant, and call 999 if you believe you are in immediate danger. There is more in what to do if you think you are being followed.

What a security driver changes

A security driver takes most of the pavement out of the day. While you are inside, the driver is watching who arrives and who waits; in slow traffic the doors stay locked and the windows closed. A dinner in Mayfair should end with the car at the door as the bill is settled and the walk to it counted in steps. That is the standard we work to.

Most visitors do not need one, and a single evening does not need a team. Security driving runs roughly £40–£80 an hour, with most full days between £300 and £600, as the guide to security drivers sets out. Where the concern follows you out of the car — a crowded venue, a public appearance, a period of attention — a driver becomes one part of a close protection detail. Cover can start from 24 hours’ notice.

What to record before you need it

The serial number is what identifies a watch once it has gone. Note it now from the papers or the case, with the model reference, and keep a photograph and the purchase documents somewhere other than your phone. The Met recommends registering valuables free on Immobilise, a property register that helps the police identify the owners of recovered property, adding the serial number where there is one, and photographing jewellery beside a ruler. For a phone, dial *#06# to show the IMEI number and write it down.

If a watch is taken

If you are threatened, let the watch go. Then, in this order:

Call 999 if it has just happened, the thief is still nearby or anyone is hurt; otherwise call 101 or report it online to the Met.
Give the make, model and serial number, and ask for a crime reference number.
Tell your insurer promptly, quoting the crime reference.
Register the loss with The Watch Register, the database of lost and stolen watches run as part of the Art Loss Register. It asks for the serial number and proof of loss, such as a crime reference number, and charges private owners a registration fee.
If a phone went too, lock it from another device, call your bank, change your key passwords and give the police its IMEI number.

Common questions

Is it safe to wear an expensive watch in London?

For most people, on most days, yes. Before travelling with a valuable watch, check that your home or travel insurance covers it away from home, whether it has to be listed on the policy by name, and what proof of ownership the insurer will ask for if you need to claim.

Can a stolen watch be traced?

Sometimes, if it can be identified. Dealers, jewellers, pawnbrokers and auction houses use The Watch Register to check whether a watch offered to them has been reported stolen, so a loss registered there with its serial number can be flagged if the watch is brought to one of them. Without a serial number on record, a recovered watch is hard to connect to its owner.

Do I need a bodyguard to wear a good watch in London?

Almost never for the watch alone. Habits deal with most of the risk, and where the walk to and from the car is the exposure, a security driver usually does more than an officer on foot. A close protection officer earns a place when there is a wider reason — public profile, a specific concern, a crowded event. The five-question self-assessment can tell you whether you need either.

Written by the founder, First Class Executive Security

30+ years in the security industry, 20+ in close protection