Paintings, pricey watches stolen

A thief made off with three watches valued at a total of $104,000 from a store in Yorkville on Sept. 25.

In a news release, police said a man entered a jewellery store on Cumberland Avenue at around 2:05 p.m. and asked to see some watches.

[attach]6502[/attach]The employee showed the man three expensive Rolexes. The man grabbed the watches and ran out of the store.

Police describe the watches as Rolex Day/Date President 18K solid gold with champagne stick dial and diamonds on the numbers and wristband.

This theft comes just about a week after a high-priced art theft in Yorkville.

In that case, the suspect targeted decorative boxes worth nearly $25,000.

Police said two pieces were stolen from an art store near Bloor Street and Avenue Road between 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 17 and 1:45 p.m. on Sept. 18.

Stolen were a powder gold poetry box lacquer, 40 by 11 centimetres and valued at $22,000, as well as a small box made of zelkova wood, 27 by 11 cm, and worth $1,500.

The box theft also came on the heels of yet another theft in Yorkville, where a group of paintings, including two by members of the Group of Seven, were stolen.

Police said the paintings were stolen at around 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 26 from Gallery Geevik, located at 12 Hazelton Lanes.

The front bay window of the gallery was smashed, and the three paintings, valued at about $50,000, were then taken.

The stolen paintings were:

• “Harbour scene #2” by Sylvia Lefkovitz, oil on canvas, 60 by 80 centimetres.

• “Group of Birches” by Frank Johnston (Group of Seven artist), oil on board, 30 by 25 centimetres.

• “Beach Litter” by Arthur Lismer (Group of Seven artist), oil on board, 30 by 40 centimetres.

Anyone with information on any of these cases is asked to contact police at 416-808-5306, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at [url]www.222tips.com[/url], or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).