A Japanese businessman became the latest victim of thieves preying on expensive watches in Paris.
The victim lost a Richard Mille Tourbillon Diamond Twister, a Swiss luxury timepiece decorated with a diamond-covered spiral.
The watch retails for €757,000 ($830,000).
The victim was smoking a cigarette outside Hôtel Napoléon, a five-star hotel in Paris, when the thief struck around 9 p.m. last Monday a report by CNN said.
According to the report, a man approached the victim and asked for a cigarette.
When the victim put his hand out, the man grabbed his watch and ran away.
A spate of luxury watch thefts have been reported in Paris. In the first eight months of the year, 71 cases were reported, the report said.
Thieves have several styles of stealing watches with some punching their victims or knocking them off a scooter.
Some thieves would ask for a cigarette before making off with the watch. Others would also intentionally bump into a car mirror. Once the driver sticks his or her hand out to fix the side mirror, the thief will then grab the watch and run away.