Conspicuous luxury looks cheap

Street robbery has become an epidemic. Horrible thugs are stealing luxury watches and jewellery in broad daylight. The number of luxury watches stolen almost doubled in England and Wales between 2015 and 2022 – with 25,802 stolen in 2022. The problem is particularly bad in London, where the Metropolitan Police have set up a special unit to tackle the problem.

It’s an unforgivable crime. Lock the muggers up and throw away the key. Of course people should be free to walk the streets, decked in gold and silver. Oh for the legendary days of medieval England when you could supposedly leave a bag of coins nailed to a tree for a year and no one would steal it. 

That’s no longer the case, if indeed it ever was. In the Daily Mail last week, an anonymous writer movingly revealed how she’s so scared of being attacked on the streets of London that she refuses to carry her £1,500 Chanel handbag, wear her Rolex watch or even put her engagement ring on, for fear of muggers.