Stolen KD 89,000 watch mailed back to shop with apology letter

Three days after a watch worth about KD 89,000 vanished from a shop in Tokyo, a parcel arrived at the same shop’s counter. Inside was the watch, undamaged, with a handwritten note that simply said sorry.

No one at the shop knew who sent it. The serial number matched the stolen piece exactly, and there wasn’t a scratch on it. That’s where this story gets interesting – because the man who took it is still missing, and so is any real explanation for why he gave it back.

How it happened

The theft took place at around 8pm on 29 October, on the third floor of Nakano Broadway, a shopping centre in Tokyo known for its mix of collectible and luxury goods stores. A man walked into a watch shop and asked an employee if he could try on a Royal Oak, one of the most recognisable models made by the Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet.

The employee let him put it on. Instead of handing it back, the man ran out of the shop with the watch still on his wrist. Shop staff reported the theft to police soon after.

For two days there was no sign of the watch or the man who took it. Then, on the morning of 1 November, a parcel turned up at the shop. It had been posted from Aichi Prefecture, hundreds of kilometres from Tokyo. Inside was the watch, along with a short, handwritten note of apology.

What investigators found – and what they still don’t know

According to investigation sources quoted by Japanese media, police checked the watch’s serial number against shop records and confirmed it was the same piece stolen three days earlier. They also noted it had no visible scratches or damage, which suggests whoever sent it back took some care with it.

What police haven’t worked out is who actually sent the parcel. It isn’t confirmed whether the man who stole the watch mailed it himself, or whether someone else – a friend, a relative, or even the thief acting through a third party – sent it on his behalf. Officers are still trying to identify the sender and are continuing to search for the man seen taking the watch.

This is a case where the ending arrived before the full story did. Normally a stolen item being returned would close a case. Here, it’s actually kept investigators busy, because a watch showing up safely doesn’t tell them who is responsible or why they changed their mind.

Not the first theft at this mall this year

Nakano Broadway has had a rough year for watch theft. In August, four watches worth a combined 200 million yen (close to KD 388,000) were stolen from a different shop in the same complex. Two men were arrested over that case and later charged.

After that incident, in September, police advised watch and jewellery dealers in the area to display replica pieces or photographs instead of the real items, to cut the risk of theft. It isn’t clear from reports whether the shop in this latest case had followed that advice, since the real watch was clearly on the counter and available to try on.

Why this matters beyond Tokyo

This kind of theft – a customer asking to try on a high-value item, then running off with it – is a known risk for jewellers and watch dealers anywhere, including in Kuwait, where luxury watch boutiques in malls along the Gulf Road and in Salmiya see similar foot traffic from browsers and genuine buyers alike. Shops here often ask for ID or keep a close watch when customers handle pieces above a certain value, for exactly this reason. You can follow more <a href=