Man Asks to Try On a $292,000 Audemars Piguet in Tokyo, Then Runs Out Still Wearing It. Three Days Later It Comes Back by Courier, With a Handwritten Apology.

Around 7:45 on a Thursday evening, a man walked into a watch shop on the third floor of Nakano Broadway, a Tokyo shopping complex known for anime merch and, apparently, very expensive watches.

He asked to try one on, handed it back, then asked for another: an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak priced at about 46 million yen, roughly $292,000. With it on his left wrist he walked toward a mirror at the back, appeared to pretend to sit down in a chair, and then bolted out of the store. Security video shows a man running down an escalator with something round and white on his wrist. Nobody was hurt.

Tough return policy? Apparently not. Three days later, on Sunday morning, a courier package showed up at the same shop. Inside was the watch, with no noticeable damage, and a handwritten note apologizing for the theft. Staff checked the serial number. It was the one.

The parcel came from Aichi Prefecture, a few hours from Tokyo, and listed a sender's name and address. Investigators suspect those details are fake.

Tokyo police say the case is not closed: they are still looking for the man who ran, and for whoever mailed the watch back, which may or may not be the same person. So the watch is home, the apology is on file, and the thief is still out there somewhere, presumably feeling a little better about himself.