Rochelle Humes has spoken about her fear of wearing “anything nice” in London over crime fears.
The Saturdays star, 37, said: “You can't wear [a Rolex] in London now” on her podcast Ladies Who Launch.
Humes is often spotted wearing jewelry worth tens of thousands of pounds on her Instagram page, which has more than two million followers.
On a recent episode of the podcast with entrepreneur Sedge Beswick, the pair discussed the pros and cons of wearing Rolex watches.
The singer said: “You can’t wear one in London now. It’s too scary to have anything nice.”
Earlier this year, an investigation by the Standard revealed that more than £22 million of luxury watches, handbags and jewellery have been stolen by thieves across London in the past two years.
Jenson Button’s wife Brittny, Loose Women’s Christine Lampard and Tim Hortons boss Axel Schwan are among recent high-profile victims of the capital’s high-end theft epidemic.
Criminals often ambush victims in the street using violence before making a rapid escape on e-bikes and scooters.
According to latest Metropolitan Police data obtained by the Standard via a Freedom of Information request, 3,428 watches valued above £3,000 were stolen between January 1, 2023 and November 30 last year.
Also taken were 9,085 items of jewellery and 3,347 handbags worth in excess of £1,000 each.
A conservative estimate of the 15,860 luxury accessories would total £22,716,000 - but many top brands cost five or six-figure sums so the true figure will be much greater.
Astonishingly, just 123 - 0.77 per cent of the massive haul – was logged as “recovered” by the force and therefore returned to owners.
