Crime & Safety
$425K Antique Mystery Clock Reported Stolen During Chicago Show
A man and 2 women allegedly distracted the people at the booth and snatched the clock that was on display Sunday at the Merchandise Mart.
CHICAGO, IL — A diamond-studded antique clock with an estimated worth of $425,000 was reported stolen Sunday from a dealer's booth at the Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show at the Merchandise Mart, the Chicago Tribune reports. No arrests have been made, but Chicago police are reviewing security camera footage from the day, the report added.
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At around 3:45 p.m. Sunday, May 21, a man and two women visited the seventh-floor booth of a New Orleans-based antiques dealer where the valuable clock was being displayed, the report stated. While the man and one of the women distracted the people staffing the dealer's booth, the other woman is accused of snatching the clock, the report added.
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According to the description of the 20th-century timepiece on M.S. Rau Antiques' website, the Asprey & Company mystery clock contains 18-karat white gold, crystal, diamonds, sapphires and mother of pearl. The clock "was almost certainly designed for the legendary collection of the Sultan of Brunei, a man notorious for his voracious appetite for rare luxuries," according to the description, which also liberally uses the words "sumptuous," "opulent" and "a horological treasure" (look it up and learn something, lazy bones).
WATCH: Find out more about the missing mystery clock thanks to this video by M.S. Rau Antiques:
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"[W]e're confident that the criminals will be quickly apprehended and this wonderful timepiece returned," the dealer said in a statement, according to the Tribune.
The Asprey & Company mystery clock that was reported stolen from an antique dealer's booth Sunday, May 21, during the Chicago Antiques + Art + Design Show at the Merchandise Mart. (Screen shot via video by M.S. Rau Antiques | YouTube)
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