Jacob & Co Watches Targeted in Brazen Four Seasons Hotel Theft

In a shocking Ocean’s 11-esque heist, two thieves made off with approximately $2 million worth of luxury timepieces and jewelry in New York this weekend. The New York Post was the first to report that at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, thieves used a sledgehammer to break into display cases in the lobby of the posh Four Seasons Hotel on East 57th Street.

Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department, said the duo targeted the Jacob & Company display, taking three watches. The New York Times spoke to company owner Jacob Arabo, who commented that because the thieves only managed to make a small hole in the protective casing, they could only reach three of the timepieces on display. “This is small-time, running into a hotel, smashing things with a hammer,” Mr. Arabo told the Times. “Unfortunately, it happened to me. How come it was my window, when there were other windows with jewelry in the hotel? I think [because] they would recognize my name more than anyone else’s, from the magazines.

The brazen robbery has shaken the confidence of companies displaying their high-end wares at the hotel, particularly since the display cases were meant to be protected by shatterproof glass. Arabo told the Times he is considering the use of bulletproof glass, a material used by many boutiques in street-level displays.

Pictured above is the Jacob & Company display case at the Four Seasons Hotel New York that was robbed. Photo credit: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times. Source courtesy the New York Post and the New York Times.