The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Came home today to unload a set of second hand alloy wheels with my friend.

We then left the house at 4:30pm.
I returned home at 8:30pm and find that my home has been ransacked.

Burglar broke in through the kitchen window and most likely left through the garden door as front door was still locked.

Living room and bedroom totally ransacked, I feel sick to the stomach the way our personal belongings were just thrown on the floor.

Funnily enough they didn't take easy to carry items like our iPads, iPods, laptops.
They left my Louis Vuitton wallets and money clips and all my designer sunglasses intact.

Only thing I can see missing unfortunately is my Super Avenger, about £5k worth of gold and diamond jewellery and about £1,600 in cash.

I'm still a bit shell shocked, and the police have been no help. Called them at 9pm, then at 10pm. It's now 11:30pm and they keep saying that someone will be here and sorry but they are busy!
So this is what I pay my taxes for!

Anyone else been through such unfortunate situation?
Any tips on what to do?
Not going to be able to sleep tonight. I feel so violated, someone's just come into my home and gone through all my things!

They took my Super Avenger which was kept in the box, they also took the cosc cert and warranty booklet. They left the receipt. Is there anyway I can find the serial number to the watch so I can report it to Breitling??!

Just noticed they put my Sony Vaio in a carrier bag but left it on the sofa?!
Strange.

I had a recent theft of my own where I was relieved of my Cockpit and other items, but not to the extent it appears you were. It really is a violation beyond understanding until it happens. Not much I can say in the way of advice, except to take keep your head up and be thankful no one was hurt. Had you walked in a cornered the thief it could have been way worse.

Terrible to hear that, but at least everyone is OK. Call the AD with the receipt and see if they can track the serial, or check any photos that you have of the caseback.

Contact your insurance carrier/underwriter who may be able to assist
you in getting police cooperation. You need a police report so you can
collect. This may have been inside work, or you were staked out & am-
bushed @ a most opportune time. My vehicle was stolen 20 years back,
& the cops were totally apathetic & mentally castrated. I was told there
was a chance of recovery, so even when my phone rings today, I'm wet
with anticipation. (LOL) Also, check local pawn, gold, & antique shops as
due diligence. I regret your losses, but hopefully reciprocity will clobber
the robber(s).

I'm really sorry to hear. People are really awful. Other than a good firearm, a good dog, and a good safe, there isn't much you can do as crappy people do crappy things. Hopefully homeowners/renters insurance covers you...have you had the items appraised recently? If not, do you have recent sales receipts? (not sure if the SA was recent or a while ago).

Nine out of ten times the police do nothing. They show up after the fact and rarely act. And by law, they aren't even required to protect citizens in most nations (in the US they have absolutely no requirement to do so although the majority of people don't even know this).

If you have a lot of valuables, I'd look at a fireproof/waterproof 'gun safe' such as those made by Heritage Safe Co. or another good maker. You can get discounts on homeowners and jewelry insurance for having/using it and the large majority of thieves will not be able to get into those level safes (where as many can open a cheap Sentry Safe in a matter of minutes with a tool that opens it from the top much like a can-opener). For the few who can get into them, you're talking hours rather than minutes which makes trying to rob it far higher of a risk than most criminals will take, and for that matter the overwhelming majority of thieves don't have a snowball's chance in hell on opening these. Also, it's nice being able to secure all important papers/hard drives/memories/etc...and the nicer safes will provide 80+ minutes of real fire protection which is far more time than it takes to put a house fire out...and NO one is immune to the risk of house fires. Essentially, a mid-high end safe protects parts of your life from disappearing due to a break in, fire, flood, etc. and the peace of mind it gives is exceptional. The money it can save is substantial as well.

I'd also advise taking pictures of valuables, labeling them, and keeping hard and electronic copies. All my valuables with serial numbers are photographed and kept in an encrypted file on my computers, on file with my insurance company, and stored hard copy in a safe. And of course for things like the iPad/computers/smartphones, 'hidden apps' that can engage the built in cameras, track the item using GPS, and wipe the hard drive are always a plus, especially if you have PII on your computer which almost everyone does but doesn't realize. A break in is one thing...a break in where a criminal gets all of your personal information is another and what comes afterwards can be even worse than the break in itself.

In terms of making an environment designed to scare criminals away, remember that criminals hate certain things, such as dogs. Dogs make noise and attract attention. Excessive lighting, security systems with loud sirens/noise weapons, a massive safe, placing safes in areas that make criminals vulnerable, motion sensing lights, etc. all create an environment that will make a criminal go somewhere else. And of course God forbid if you are in the house during a break in/armed robbery, a good firearm and training is key. I'm not familiar with UK self defense laws though so I can't really comment on that further. Of course all of the above is just my opinion, as I realize some people will disagree with me.

I would advise figuring out how much information is on that computer that they may have been able to access. Think passwords, bank accounts/bank cards, credit card numbers, drivers licenses, passports, club cards, family information, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Then, if need be, change up as much information before they try to use it on your behalf.

Having been robbed last year of seven Breitlings (O yes, SEVEN!) i can say that Nickzac is right on the money. Loads of good advice there.

Really sorry to hear this. A colleague has just gone through similar. I hope the items are recovered or at least you receive no hassle from your insurance.



In the UK it's rare to have a good firearm to hand.

I understand completely. A few years ago my wife and I came home to find out house completely ransacked. All windows smashed, walls broken, graffiti inside the house, all our clothes and belongings sprawled all over the house, our 200 litre fish tank smashed with our beloved fish left dead on the ground... essentially nothing was left unmolested.

Sadly the police did nothing, and weren't very helpful or interested beyond the cursory visit. Thankfully the only things of value they took were an old mac laptop (good riddance the PC lover inside of me said!) and some of my wife's cheap, but emotionally significant jewellery.

We've since had to move for work, and now ensure wherever we live has a security system, security shutters for the windows etc and have changed our insurance as our previous home insurer wasn't very pleasant or useful to deal with.

I hope it works out quickly and smoothly for you with insurance. I'd also contact local watch shops and higher-end jewellers letting them know you've had your SA stolen in case they are approached by anyone about selling it.

Brutal stuff, and feeling sick about it is totally understandable, I think anyone would be under those circumstances.

When I was 24 all I had was the shirt on my back and a bad addiction to alcohol and drugs. In August of 96 I basically had a choice, to go on a path that would lead me to be here replying to this, or probably be one of the guys breaking into your houses. Thankfully I made the right choice and walked away from life as I knew it never to see anyone again.


I wish you well in getting through this, and eventually you will probably come around into being happy to be purchasing a new Breitling. But most of all, I hope they get caught because that is the one thing I would probably want the most.

Really sorry for you and I know exactly how you are feeling. Had a burglary last year and they took some expensive vases, some silver and other stuff. Police were useless, and WE recently discovered seven of our vases being sold at an auction house abroad (not the Police, even though the stuff was on their Art and antiques database). Whilst the Police are 'interested' now, as they have to deal with Interpol, they don't hold out much hope of getting the stuff back because in their words, after the items have been through several hands, they become 'legitimately owned' and even though we could prove ownership and the theft, the scumbags that have them now could also 'prove' legitimate purchase. And it then becomes a civil matter, unless they were careless and had a trail back to the original theft.

Sometimes wish the option of firearms was available in the UK.

_________________
Have
2019 B55 Exospace on Titanium bracelet
2014 SuperAvenger II Military LE
Had
2013 Avenger Seawolf SS yellow Arabic dial
2010 Aerospace Avantage black dial & Co-pilot
2007 Aerospace Repetition Minutes
2003 Superocean
2001 Chronospace

Nightmare situation for you. Hope they catch the scum who did it, but glad to hear no-one was hurt.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

From a policemans perspective.. In southern california.. Its not that we don't care.. There is only so much we can do. We show up.. Find out whats missing.. How did they get in.. Any evidence left.. And thats bout it. Then we have to haul off the the guy getting stabbed in progress or the lady getting punched by her husband. Burglary is the most unsolved crime.. And believe it or not.. We do not have crystal balls that tell us "who done it." That being said.. Sorry bout your break in man.. I would want them to take anything but the lings.

Thats sickening. Years ago my office was broken into and the scumbag left with our computers, which he probably hocked for $20, but left us without very important information. He also stole a few checks from the back of the checkbook unbeknownst to us, which he eventually wrote to himself and tried to cash at a supermarket. They refused, so he went to the bank, and they called us to verify. I told them to hold him there but apparently he got away.

Months later we get a call that theyve caught the a-hole breaking in to somebody's home, and they find some of our property on him. I go to court and testify. It ends up being the guy's third strike, and he ended up with 25 years to life.

Point being, there is still hope since these people typically keep doing these crimes. Hopefully the police dusted for fingerprints at your house in case they can connect the to something else later on down the road from now.

Good luck.

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-RJ