An evening in Barcelona turned into an unpleasant surprise for a Mercedes owner returning to Andorra along the busy Via Augusta. The October heat made him roll down the window, which played into the hands of the criminals. When the car stopped at a red light, a man ran up, snatched a luxury watch from his wrist, and immediately sped off on a motorcycle where an accomplice was waiting. Within a minute, the trail of the thieves disappeared into city traffic.
The stolen watch was a Cartier Santos-Dumont in rose gold, valued at around 40,000 euros. The Catalan police are now trying to track down the robbers, but there is very little information about them. The method used resembles an old tactic of Italian thieves who specialize in stealing high-end accessories.
Recently, similar incidents have become more frequent in Barcelona. Just last week, in the Ciutat Vella district, an American tourist had a Patek Philippe watch snatched from his wrist on the street — the timepiece was worth nearly twice as much, about 90,000 euros. In that case, however, the thief dropped his phone, allowing the watch to be returned to its owner.
On average, two watch thefts are committed in the city every day, and it’s not just expensive models — sometimes even owners of ordinary or counterfeit watches become victims. To combat this issue, police have set up a special group called Titani. Over the past six months, the number of such crimes has risen by almost 7 percent, most often involving thefts without the use of force.
However, violent thefts of watches account for just over 5 percent of all such crimes. In the first six months of 2025, 153 suspects were detained, with 23 already behind bars. Police note that most of these thefts are committed by opportunistic offenders, and the number of robberies involving electric scooters has dropped thanks to targeted operations. Efforts have also been stepped up to identify professional groups and to work with jewelers to distinguish originals from fakes—since many counterfeit items are found among those confiscated.
