On November 12, 2024, the luxury jewellery store The Watch Project, located on Boulevard Princesse-Charlotte in Monaco, was the scene of an armed robbery. Around 5:25 p.m., an assailant entered the store, later reported by the press as displaying visible signs of nervousness and stuttering as he inquired about a particular watch.
This behaviour reportedly initially raised no alarm, but soon escalated when the suspect, a 43-year-old Slovak man, drew a handgun and demanded several high-value watches.
Reports in the press about the crime indicate the robber, initially posing as a customer, requested a certificate of authenticity, prompting the store manager to briefly step away. Seizing the moment, according to the reports, the assailant followed the manager to the back of the store, then used a pistol to intimidate him. Although the handgun was later suspected to be a replica or airsoft weapon, the suspect also carried a taser, which he reportedly used as a secondary threat during the encounter.
Over the course of a few tense minutes, the assailant tied the manager to a chair and proceeded to collect four luxury watches—three Rolexes and one Cartier—worth approximately 37,000 euros. Under duress, the manager reportedly pressed a panic button linked to a private security company, which notified local law enforcement and initiated a live video feed of the unfolding scene. The suspect, ultimately fled on foot toward Beausoleil, a French town bordering Monaco.
Within hours, municipal police apprehended the suspect in Beausoleil near Rue Jules-Ferry, aided by surveillance footage that tracked his movement. During the arrest, authorities recovered the stolen watches, as well as items used in the robbery, including a cap, a bag, and the imitation firearm and taser.
Further investigation revealed that this was not the suspect’s first involvement in jewellery store crime. He was previously linked to an October 10 robbery in Nice, where he had taken hostages in a jewellery store and stolen watches valued at 50,000 euros.
In Monaco, authorities opened a judicial investigation under charges of armed robbery. Officials are likely to consider an extradition request for the suspect to stand trial for alleged robberies in Nice and the Principality. This incident, followed a high-profile multimillion-euro heist at another Monaco jewellery store earlier in the year. It features rapid response by the Monaco police and also the effectiveness of their surveillance systems within the Principality.
