Stolen ₹2.7 crore Audemars Piguet watch returned to Tokyo store with handwritten apology note

A luxury watch stolen from a store in Tokyo, Japan last week has been returned to its rightful owner with a handwritten apology note. The Audemars Piguet wristwatch, worth approximately 46 million yen ( ₹2.7 crore), was sent back to the store via a courier service on November 1.

A stolen Audemars Piguet wristwatch was returned to a Tokyo store with an apology. (Representational image)According to Japanese newspaper The Mainichi, the package containing the wristwatch was sent from Japan’s Aichi Prefecture.

The package arrived at Kame-kichi Nakano Honten, the store from which the watch was stolen, on the morning of November 1. Staff checked the serial number and confirmed that it matched the stolen timepiece.

A name and address were mentioned in the sender details. However, investigators suspect that the information was fabricated.

The package also contained a handwritten note expressing an apology for the theft. The watch was reportedly returned without any noticeable damage.

According to the Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun, the theft took place at around 7:45 pm on October 29 at a watch store on the third floor of Nakano Broadway, a shopping complex in Tokyo's Nakano Ward.

According to investigators, a man entered the store and asked an employee if he could try on a watch displayed there. After trying it on, he returned it to the employee. He then asked to try on another timepiece, a Swiss-made Audemars Piguet worth approximately 46 million yen.

The man put the expensive watch on his left wrist and walked towards a mirror at the back of the store. He then appeared to pretend to sit on a nearby chair before suddenly making his way out of the shop. He fled without returning the watch.

The suspect was dressed in a dark jacket and trousers and wore a hat. He spent approximately eight minutes inside the store. He reportedly fled towards the eastern side of the shopping complex, at one point going against the flow of people on an escalator.

There were two employees at the store when the theft took place. One was present in the sales area, while the other was in the back room. Neither was injured during the incident.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is continuing its investigation and searching for the man who fled with the watch. Investigators are also trying to identify the person who sent the stolen timepiece back to the store.

Security camera footage from the area reportedly shows a man believed to be the suspect running away. Something resembling a watch can be seen on his left wrist.

Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience -- from viral videos to human interest copies that spark a conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and finding newsworthy angles in viral content. She writes about a wide range of topics, from business leaders and social issues to everyday people and internet trends. She enjoys speaking to content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs and turning their experiences and stories into engaging, relatable articles.Read More