Valley Struck by Series of Rolex Thefts : Crime: Bandit follows and robs Ventura Boulevard motorists whose expensive watches can be easily seen while they are driving.

In a rash of thefts similar to those that plagued the Westside several years ago, about two dozen Rolex watches have been stolen--often at gunpoint--in West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley this fall, apparently after bandits spotted the expensive watches on motorists’ wrists, police said Thursday.

Detectives say that more than half the robberies, which began in September, were committed in the Valley, where most victims were apparently chosen as they drove expensive cars on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City or the West Valley.

No victims have been injured, and so far no suspect has been identified.

“Rolexes are really easy to spot when you’re driving down the street because they’re on your left wrist, so when you’re driving, your watch is exposed,” said Los Angeles Police Detective Roland L’Heureux of the West Valley Division, where the latest Rolex robbery occurred Nov. 23.

LAPD Detective Robert Johansen said it appears the thief seeks out potential victims, often middle-aged men and women driving luxury cars during daytime hours, and maneuvers his auto close enough to determine whether they are wearing a Rolex. The robber then follows his victims, sometimes for miles, to their next stop, which typically is a home, business or restaurant.

When the driver gets out of the car, the robber, who typically is armed with a semiautomatic pistol, runs up and demands the watch, Johansen said.

In all but one of the eight such thefts in the West Valley over the last few months, the victims apparently drew the robber’s attention by driving on Ventura Boulevard in a Mercedes-Benz, police say.

In one robbery, a thief confronted a couple, both wearing Rolexes, who had just parked a Mercedes at a business on Ventura Boulevard in Encino. The robber took both timepieces and an expensive ring the woman was wearing, Johansen said.

Johansen said the goods were valued at “over $100,000.”

The West Los Angeles robberies--10 this year--have been similar in execution, police say.

The robberies recall a string of similar holdups on the Westside in the late 1980s and early 1990s that alarmed Rolex wearers and climaxed with the slaying of one owner outside his West Los Angeles home during a fight with a gunman.

Beverly Hills Police Detective Stephen Miller said the series of holdups ended after the arrest and conviction of several robbers who had been operating independently.

So far this fall, four Rolex robberies have occurred in Beverly Hills, where two suspects were arrested in October and November, including a man recently released from prison after serving time for his involvement in some of the previous Rolex crimes.

Beverly Hills police said it does not appear the robberies there are connected to the rash of thefts in the Valley, which dropped off in frequency last month. LAPD detectives said they are still trying to determine whether the Valley robberies and those in West Los Angeles are being committed by the same criminal.

Detective Richard Jamieson of the North Hollywood Division said five robberies occurred in the Studio City area, some on the same days that Rolex robberies were reported in the West Valley. Patrol officers in the division have been alerted, and a composite sketch of the culprit has been prepared.

The suspect is black, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a mustache and possibly a goatee, Jamieson said.

One victim, though, described the man who took his watch as over 6 foot 5. Johansen in the West Valley said he believes there is a strong possibility that two robbers are working together.

“One could be driving a car, and the other may be robbing,” Johansen said.

Only one of the West Valley victims spotted a possible suspect vehicle, which turned out to be a rental car, Johansen said.

Not all of the recent robberies have run like clockwork, police say.

“We had a guy driving a Rolls-Royce who they thought was wearing a Rolex, but it ended up being a Timex,” said LAPD Detective Mel Arnold, recounting a robbery attempt in Van Nuys two weeks ago.

Stephen Polacheck, owner of Polacheck’s Jewelers in Sherman Oaks, said that three of his customers had their watches stolen over the last few months and all of them chose to replace them with new Rolexes.

“It’s a magical feeling of wearing that watch,” said Polacheck, an authorized Rolex dealer since 1976.

Polacheck said one of his customers was robbed of his watch in a Westwood parking lot, another as he exited an elevator in Beverly Hills and a third inside a Reseda doughnut shop.

The victim in the Reseda case, who asked not to be identified, said it never crossed his mind that wearing a Rolex would increase his chances of falling victim to crime.

“I was standing there ordering some doughnuts and somebody came in and put his arm around my neck as though he was a good friend of mine,” the victim said. “He used some four-letter words and said, ‘I got a gun, give me your watch.’ ”

The man said he ripped off his Rolex and gave it to the robber.

“He said he had a gun,” the victim said. “I wasn’t going to test him to see if he had it.”

The man, who was driving a Mercedes-Benz, said that the incident has not frightened him away from owning a Rolex but it has made him rethink the occasions he chooses to wear his new one.

“Now I would only wear it to work and when I get dressed up,” he said.

Rolexes range in price from $1,750 for a steel one to as much as $50,000 for a gold President model with a diamond pave bracelet and case, Polacheck said. Police say most of the watches stolen over the last few months were estimated to be worth from $20,000 to $40,000.

One detective said that thieves may be selling the stolen watches to jewelers who then resell them. Polacheck said Rolex devotees can avoid purchasing a stolen watch by buying only those accompanied by an official warranty certificate from Rolex in New York, bearing a serial number matching the number on the watch.

“There’s a certain feel and stability that goes along with wearing a Rolex watch,” Polacheck said. “Once you own one, it’s like an addiction. It’s like you don’t feel comfortable without it.”