Safe to wear watches?

Greg S said:
We find that wearing understated white gold or platinum accessories draws far less attention than gaudy yellow gold. I wear a vintage 18kt white-cold Patek Calatrava every day without problem. BA isn’t Chicago or Detroit.
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Patrick1988 said:
I read a lot of posts about things getting stolen or at times even robbery.

Is it safe to wear watches worth 100-200 usd in Palermo/Recoleta/Microcentro during day and night or is that something that should be avoide
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I never had any problem with watches. Do not wear Rolex and try always to avoid golden tones. I've been wearing silver mixed with golden tones for a long time and so far it's ok. Any metal in a golden tone they usually assume it's gold, even if it is not.
 
This seems like an obvious.
I'm here in Puerto Madero... I felt very, very safe walking around.
However I am a large brown guy ... in a black plain tshirt, black shorts and sandals.
Zero jewellery ever.. a brown leather satchel though.
I put my fancy clothes for dinner, took a taxi from point A to B and return. It was easy.
Talk to me in 3 weeks... but rule #1 ... don't make yourself a target. (Waiting for someone to tell me... I'm being too optimistic)
 
Quilombo said:
I think it depends on a few things:

  • Risk tolerance/how much are you willing to part with: assuming you're not willing to die for your watch, are you willing to part with $20/$250/$2,500+?
  • Where do you live/where are you traveling/at what time? In Patagonia or up north you're probably more likely to have your watch stolen by a bird than a person, but in CABA it depends entirely on the neighborhood. Last week a 17yo in La Matanza shot a woman in the leg, originally trying to shoot her in the head (at least that's what the video looked like to me) over a purse you'd find on clearance at a thrift store; location is everything
  • Do you look like a target? If you look out of place, like a tourist, or rich you're more likely to be targeted. Most crimes are crimes of opportunity after all. I dress the same here like I did in North America, $20 shirt, $40 shorts, $30 shoes; I'm not a stylish guy to begin with, and even if I had the money for expensive clothes I have no interest in them because it draws attention. I understand that's why some people where jewelry to begin with, but if you're worried about being robbed it's probably better to dress down than dress up
  • Finally, how tall/muscular/etc are you? With shoes one I'm pushing 6'6", and I haven't weighed less than 200 lbs since I was a teenager; I have survivorship bias I think in part to this; if you're a little old lady you're an easy target compared to a jacked teenager or someone that has the proportions of a fridge
On a side note, I live downtown and see a ton of people, on the street, employees at stores, etc. wearing both real and knock off Apple Watches, so it's really hard to say. I was thinking about getting a smart watch for exercising, but the potential theft is something that I keep mulling over.
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Excellent post.. I couldn't have said it better.
 
Rishiray said:
This seems like an obvious.
I'm here in Puerto Madero... I felt very, very safe walking around.
However I am a large brown guy ... in a black plain tshirt, black shorts and sandals.
Zero jewellery ever.. a brown leather satchel though.
I put my fancy clothes for dinner, took a taxi from point A to B and return. It was easy.
Talk to me in 3 weeks... but rule #1 ... don't make yourself a target. (Waiting for someone to tell me... I'm being too optimistic)
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Is Puerto Madera really representative of Buenos Aires? I feel like it's another world when I cross the bridge.

I happen to be sitting outside today in PM for work and I've heard more English in 30 min than the last two years I've been in the interior.
 
jblaze5779 said:
Is Puerto Madera really representative of Buenos Aires? I feel like it's another world when I cross the bridge.

I happen to be sitting outside today in PM for work and I've heard more English in 30 min than the last two years I've been in the interior.
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its not, but there still is petty crime and motochorros so still smart to be careful
 
As a local I got to admit you got it right, there's one thing I would like to pinpoint though, as weird as it sounds to foreign people the dangerous and unsafe place here in Buenos Aires is the Conurbano, not the city, everywhere else in the world is the other way around. Cities are cities and you expect them to be unsafe, whilst here in Buenos Aires in the suburbs you can get shot for a pair of sneakers. So as a guy who was raised in the Conurbano all I can say is if you have to go for whatever reason to the Congourbano, please do yourself a favour and go when the sun is up, otherwise you can get into trouble not only for a watch, but for a bag of groceries for that matter.
 
SergeGGG said:
As a local I got to admit you got it right, there's one thing I would like to pinpoint though, as weird as it sounds to foreign people the dangerous and unsafe place here in Buenos Aires is the Conurbano, not the city, everywhere else in the world is the other way around. Cities are cities and you expect them to be unsafe, whilst here in Buenos Aires in the suburbs you can get shot for a pair of sneakers. So as a guy who was raised in the Conurbano all I can say is if you have to go for whatever reason to the Congourbano, please do yourself a favour and go when the sun is up, otherwise you can get into trouble not only for a watch, but for a bag of groceries for that matter.
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Totally agree with you. I was raised in the Conurbano, too. In the 60's it was a completely different story, we could imagine a beautiful future out of Buenos Aires, capital city, but now....forget it!
 
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