Wearing my Daytona, I was approached by 3 guys at a decaying urban mall yesterday

[3omar]

One of them said, is this a Daytona? I must say, my immediate internal reaction was to panic! I mumbled something about it possibly being fake, before taking a second to question why I was panicking. It was the middle of the day on a Sunday, there were other people around... I decided not to let TRF “is it safe” threads get to me!

Maybe I took undue risk, I don’t know, but I decided to have a conversation with them. I asked the guy who talked to me if he was into watches, and he said yes. A couple of minutes later, he was telling me about his Black Bay and pulled up his sleeve to show me his dad’s diamond-set Datejust, which he happened to be wearing. The other two chimed in, a couple of times, and I let them take a closer look at my Daytona. They had never seen one in person before. It was a pleasant, civilized conversation.

I still couldn’t help but look in my rearview mirror a few times on my drive home, not necessarily because I still suspected these guys, but just in case they or someone else who might have overheard our conversation had ideas... Everything turned out fine.

Some of you guys might call me reckless, but I kind of like that I can still have a random conversation with strangers about a hobby. FYI, this mall is in an outright unsafe neighborhood.

[Miguel:]

I feel like that when I am in a gas station..

[Seddyspaghetti]

Nice. But yeah you never know these days unfortunately.

[SLWoodster]

One time I asked a guy on drive if he was wearing a Greubel Forsey. He was kind of scared but also wanting to chat about his watch. He kind shifted like he was going to talk to me, and then shifted back and kept walking. LOL.

It was this one, i went home and looked it up and understood why he'd be scared. It's more than a quarter million dollars.

[MJFinelli]

Nice, I complemented someone’s explorer ii at a bbq restaurant one time. Guy quickly covered it up, looked at me funny and walked away. ��*♂️

[amphr1]

I totally get it. It's like you took the watch out because you are going to a professional event or upscale neighborhood and then on your way home you needed some gas or groceries and all of a sudden you forgot you shouldn't be there because you are carrying more $$$ on your one wrist than most of the people around you have in their bank.

[Notsoprobro]

It's definitely very hit or miss.

My best encounter was at a restaurant bar whilst waiting on a table. Noticed a dude was rocking a Panerai, complemented it, before you know he's whipped it off and handed it to me. Was a limited edition model and he was extremely proud of it. Also had a SD43 at home. Spent around 15 minutes chatting watches.

Worst encounter was a dude noticing my Pepsi at a professional event, then choosing to berate me for having the audacity to spend that level of cash on a watch when there are less fortunate out there. Was a super awkward conversation - he came off sounding super interested initially. Was a bummer and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

[rambo99]

Originally Posted by Notsoprobro

It's definitely very hit or miss.

My best encounter was at a restaurant bar whilst waiting on a table. Noticed a dude was rocking a Panerai, complemented it, before you know he's whipped it off and handed it to me. Was a limited edition model and he was extremely proud of it. Also had a SD43 at home. Spent around 15 minutes chatting watches.

Worst encounter was a dude noticing my Pepsi at a professional event, then choosing to berate me for having the audacity to spend that level of cash on a watch when there are less fortunate out there. Was a super awkward conversation - he came off sounding super interested initially. Was a bummer and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

wearing a panerai is perfectly safe, lol.

[P1nky_Up]

I had a guy in Seattle leave a watch store at the same time as me and my wife. He noticed my meteorite gmt and started asking about it. We happened to be walking in the same direction and the questions seemed to just keep coming. He seemed like a nice person, but I ended up taking a turn after a few blocks just to avoid any potential bad situation from occurring. He didn’t follow, so I’m taking it as he was just truly fascinated by watches.

[cryptowalkway]

Originally Posted by rambo99

wearing a panerai is perfectly safe, lol.

‘Please take my panerai… I’ll pay you!’
‘No thanks, I’m good’

[Nairn1980]

Originally Posted by MJFinelli

Nice, I complemented someone’s explorer ii at a bbq restaurant one time. Guy quickly covered it up, looked at me funny and walked away. ��*♂️

Exactly that is why I never do it

[Onequik135i]

Not to veer off topic here but there is probably 50% TRF members here that own a Panerai if I were to take a guess.

[fsprow]

This is a good lesson not to judge people by their appearance or where they are.

[Tach24LMS]

I love the Panerai Carbon. And it's on my list to acquire for my collection.

Had nothing but good experience at the Panerai boutique in Miami Beach when I was there last.

Same deal as Rolex. Exhibition only. Tried on a ton of them. Could order anything in.
Super nice and knowledgeable staff.

Rolex right beside them there. Ok chat there, but nothing great to speak of.

AP store was laughable. Nothing to see, nothing to try on. Was basically talked to about the wood on the floors and counter and how they pride themselves in their store environments with materials from the homeland. And then that I was silly for inquiring.

[rambo99]

stay away from those decaying mall! situational awareness is of paramount importance when wearing the panda.

[huba01]

Originally Posted by fsprow

This is a good lesson not to judge people by their appearance or where they are.

Well said

[stockjock1975]

Had a similar situation personally while traveling a few years back. I was staying at a really nice hotel and had gone down to the cafe for breakfast. I noticed a gentleman wearing a platona! Ironically, I was wearing mine as well at the time.

Knowing you seldom see these watches in the wild, I thought it would be a funny conversation starter. Boy was I wrong! He quickly covered up his wrist and made a hasty exit from the restaurant.

I certainly don’t look suspicious or dangerous in any way. But he did not appreciate me mentioning his wristwatch. Lesson learned!


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[JSolution]

This just seems like a really really awkward, strange situation to me. One of them actually said to you why are you panicking? And you said it was a fake and backtracked? No offence intended at all it’s extremely cringe worthy lol

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by JSolution

This just seems like a really really awkward, strange situation to me. One of them actually said to you why are you panicking? And you said it was a fake and backtracked? No offence intended at all it’s extremely cringe worthy lol

Jay, we aren’t all built like you

[Jack T]

Originally Posted by fsprow

This is a good lesson not to judge people by their appearance or where they are.

You only have to be wrong once…

[waxy88]

Originally Posted by Jack T

You only have to be wrong once…

100%
Although I guess it also comes down to “profiling”. If you have good “street smarts” you should be able to assess pretty quickly if someone is a threat or not

[DtownRRS]

I grew up in DELCO in SE PA. I just assume everyone is going to steal something...

[Easy E]

Originally Posted by fsprow

This is a good lesson not to judge people by their appearance or where they are.

Correct. The OP was in fact in the same decaying mall. Does that make him a thug just by virtue of location? I certainly think not. Also, it is tragic that our society now treats everyone and every situation in the most suspicious of frames. Too bad, really.

[Mystro]

Originally Posted by Onequik135i

Not to veer off topic here but there is probably 50% TRF members here that own a Panerai if I were to take a guess.

Love Panerai. That said, I have had several very nice watch conversations this past year at WDW. One nice foreign gentlemen on vacation even asked if I would sell my LVC to him.

[2loaded]

I know of no Rolex Boutique in a decaying mall..

[mfnj]

Times have certainly changed and situational awareness is paramount, and not only about watches! Many years ago, get togethers (GTG's) were so common that we actually announced them and requested attendance on all the forums! We laid our watches down on a table and admired them. All it took was one robbery for that to change and then we switched to private rooms even with a security guard at times. And now, we have too many stories of thefts of watches off people it streets, malls, etc. I don't know, if I was approached by 3 people inquiring about my watch, regardless of what they looked like and how they were dressed, red flags would immediately go off. Sad, but just the way it is today.

[m j b]

I had a roofing salesman in my house once, in the kitchen we were discussing shingle options and I complimented his YM. He seemed very uncomfortable with that, so I didn't pursue it.

Hey, dummy, you don't wear a Rolex on a sales call.

I've had people compliment me on a watch, rarely, and since they were in safe locations, I didn't think much of it. If I had been in the OP's position, I'd be nervous too, regardless of the age, appearance or race of the three guys. Anyone can be a thief.

[Forty6nTwo]

Most people are weirded out when approached by a stranger, even when there isn't a watch involved.

[slus]

They're rare, but I love a good watch comment (giving or receiving) when the situation is right. Commenting on people's watches while at their workplace seems to go well. Car shows are good. Gas pump and elevator comments are the worst.

[DC116710LN]

A few years ago someone paid me a compliment on my black daytona at a coffee shop. My initial reaction was slight discomfort but I noticed he was wearing a batman and we ended up having a nice conversation.

In general though, I try to avoid those types of conversations