One San Diego man says a Valentine's Day jewelry sale turned into a robbery after he arranged to sell his $70,000 Rolex to a buyer at a Clairemont jewelry store.
”I think, overall, I was pretty lucky," Sammy, who goes by his nickname and didn't want to be identified otherwise, told NBC 7 on Friday, "but I’m also upset and angry that there’s someone out there that got a watch from me.”
Sammy's $70,000 platinum Day Date Rolex was gone in a flash. Three days later, he's still processing the loss.
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"The way that this generally works is the buyer contacts the seller and offers to meet someplace like at a jeweler, where the jeweler looks at the watch, authenticates it, and the buyer pays either with a cashier's check or bank wire," Sammy said.
Unfortunately for Sammy, though, only the first part of the transaction occurred. San Diego police told NBC 7 that officers were called to Time Wise Jewelers in Clairemont Tuesday for a suspected robbery. Moments earlier, Sammy said, he was greeted by a man who he thought was an authentic buyer he had connected with on Rolex Forums, a place for watch buyers, sellers and enthusiasts to connect. Sammy said he saw the suspect's driver's license and believed the suspect was serious about the deal.
"Because I had been in the store alone, my guard was a little bit down, and I had put the Rolex in a bag on the counter," Sammy said. "Just less than three minutes later when we were talking about going somewhere else, he just bolted past me, grabbed the bag and ran out the door.”
The suspect got away.
After posting his experience on Rolex Forums, Sammy said, he found out he wasn't the only seller who's been targeted. Meanwhile, San Diego police said they're investigating the robbery, looking for witnesses and reviewing possible surveillance footage. They also said Sammy took safe steps by meeting the potential buyer in a public place and researching his identification beforehand.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get time and trust on his side.
”They have to trust you that you’re selling the real thing and then you have to trust them that they’re actually going to pay," Sammy said.
San Diego police want to remind sellers to make sure they have a record of the serial item they are selling. That way, if they find themselves in a situation similar to Sammy's, they at least might have a way to track the item if it is stolen. The police are also asking anyone with information related to the crime to contact Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
