This theft was well-timed.
A brazen burglar made off with more than $50,000 worth of pricey watches in an overnight smash-and-grab at a fancy Manhattan jewelry store yesterday, police sources said.
The thief shattered the glass front door of Tourneau Watches on Madison Avenue at 3:52 a.m., dashed inside and broke into two cases containing Rolex and Breitling watches.
The crook emptied out the cases’ content and ran out. He was captured on security footage fleeing north on Madison Avenue toward East 53rd Street.
A store manager said the most expensive watch stolen was a Gold Prince Rolex — a rectangular, manual watch with a leather band that retails for $14,000.
“We have an elaborate security system,” said the manager, whose store will have 24-hour security until the door is fixed. “It went off, but it happened in the night when no one was here.”
It was the third high-end retail-shop larceny in the Midtown North precinct over the past few weeks.
On Sept. 28, two well-dressed thieves made off with a dozen Rolex watches from Madison Jewelers near 47th Street, and on Oct. 5, a thief tried to smash the glass front door of the Fifth Avenue Louis Vuitton store in a failed attempt to burglarize the place.