Luxury watch robberies put visitors on alert in Florence and Tuscany

Visitors wearing high-value watches are emerging as targets in a series of street robberies in Florence and Tuscany, with several recent cases involving luxury brands including Richard Mille, Patek Philippe and Rolex.

The latest developments include arrests linked to a €200,000 watch stolen from a tourist in central Florence and a separate €100,000 robbery in the seaside resort of Forte dei Marmi.

The cases follow a robbery near Ponte Vecchio in September in which a €88,000 watch was snatched from a 62-year-old US tourist. Two suspects were arrested shortly afterwards.

€200,000 watch stolen near the Arno

Carabinieri have detained two men, aged 30 and 19, in connection with the theft of a Richard Mille watch valued at around €200,000 from a tourist in Florence.

The robbery took place on 24 July near Lungarno Corsini, on the north bank of the Arno in the historic centre.

According to investigators, the tourist was walking through the area when two men approached and quickly removed the watch from his wrist before escaping.

The investigation involved footage from Florence’s surveillance camera network as well as information concerning accommodation bookings, e-bike journeys and telephone records. The evidence allowed investigators to reconstruct the suspects’ movements and eventually locate them in Milan.

They were detained there on 22 September with assistance from local Carabinieri. A judge subsequently confirmed their detention and ordered that they remain in custody while proceedings continue.

Patek Philippe stolen in Forte dei Marmi

A separate case unfolded on 26 September in Forte dei Marmi, a coastal resort in the province of Lucca, about 90 kilometres west of Florence.

A 56-year-old Polish tourist was approached at around 1 p.m. and had a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch, valued at approximately €100,000, pulled from his wrist, according to police.

The suspected robber then entered a waiting car and fled towards Viareggio with another man.

Police intercepted the vehicle, leading to a chase along the Variante Aurelia and into Torre del Lago. The fleeing car allegedly struck a police vehicle before crashing into parked cars.

The two occupants continued on foot. Police said they later attempted to blend in by posing as construction workers, taking builders’ gloves and a roof tile from a nearby work site.

Both were eventually arrested. Police recovered the stolen Patek Philippe, which was returned to its owner.

Several recent cases in central Florence

The incidents come after a series of similar robberies in Florence involving watches worn openly by people walking through the city centre.

On 23 September, police arrested two men after an American tourist had a watch worth about €88,000 snatched from his wrist near Ponte Vecchio. Officers were already carrying out a targeted operation against thefts and robberies in busy areas of the historic centre and followed the suspects before witnessing the attack, according to police.

The victim was withdrawing money from an ATM when one of the suspects allegedly took the watch. Police recovered it after pursuing the suspects through central Florence.

A subsequent search of the B&B where the men were staying also uncovered another watch worth about €3,000. Investigators linked that watch to a robbery the previous evening in Via della Vigna Nuova.

Other cases have been reported during the summer. On 31 August, a tourist walking with his family in Piazza Strozzi was robbed of a watch valued at about €100,000.

Days earlier, two suspects had been detained over the robbery of a British tourist in Piazza della Repubblica. In that case, a watch worth around €20,000 was taken after the victim was approached while entering a restaurant with his wife and daughter. Police said pepper spray was used during the escape.

Another robbery on 23 August involved a couple followed through central Florence before one of them was sprayed with an irritant and a watch was taken from the other. The watch turned out to be an imitation Rolex. Two suspects were later detained.

What visitors should know

The recent cases do not amount to a general warning against visiting central Florence, which remains heavily frequented by residents and tourists. They do, however, show that visibly expensive watches can attract the attention of thieves operating in crowded areas.

Several of the reported robberies occurred in some of Florence’s busiest locations, including Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza Strozzi, Via della Vigna Nuova and the streets close to the Arno.

The cases also show different methods: some watches were removed rapidly from the victim’s wrist, while other incidents involved physical force or irritant spray.

Police have been carrying out targeted operations against predatory crime in key areas of Florence’s historic centre. Investigations have also made extensive use of public and private surveillance cameras to identify suspects after robberies.

Visitors carrying particularly valuable watches or jewellery may therefore want to avoid displaying them unnecessarily in crowded public spaces and remain aware of people following or deliberately approaching them. Anyone who is robbed or notices suspicious behaviour can contact Italy’s single European emergency number, 112.

All suspects mentioned in connection with these cases are presumed innocent unless and until convicted by a final court ruling.

(Cover photo: Bayu Prahara via Pixabay)

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