Robber steals $700,000 worth of watches from Upper East Side boutique

Lauren Glassberg Image
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Robber steals $700K worth of watches in smash and grab
Lauren Glassberg reports on a brazen daytime robbery on the Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- An armed robber stole high-end watches from a boutique on the Upper East Side in a brazen daytime heist late Tuesday morning.

Authorities say the bandit hit the A. Lange & Sohne store on Madison Avenue between East 66th and 67th streets and got away with approximately 14 watches with an estimated value of $700,000. The most expensive watch stolen is worth $215,000.

The suspect reportedly displayed a silver automatic handgun and ordered three employees and two customers to the floor. Police say he got one employee to open display cases, but when that victim got nervous, the suspect smashed a case inside the store.

He then fled the store in an unknown direction.

No injuries were reported.

The suspect is described as a white male in his 50s, approximately 6-foot-2, wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans, brown boots, a black baseball cap and a gray hooded jacket.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to call police.