Christmas burglary: $10,000 reward for return of items including guitar, watches

The thieves moved quickly after breaking into the Te Atatu home. Photo / 123RF

A pre-Christmas burglary has left an Auckland man devastated over the loss of a distinctive guitar and watches belonging to his late father.

Jack Richardson, 28, is now offering a $10,000 reward for the safe return of the items, snatched in a burglary of his Te Atatu home on Tuesday morning.

Richardson was at work when the thieves struck, but said they worked fast.

"The alarm was going off, and the neighbours came around pretty quickly."

They took his yellow-gold Vintage Telecaster guitar, two cameras, a laptop and - particularly hurtful - two watches that belonged to his late father, who died earlier this year.

Burglary victim Jack Richardson says this "road-worn" vintage Telecaster guitar will be easy to spot. Photo / Supplied

"They have got great sentimental value for me," Richardson said. "I don't care how much the stuff is worth, it's not actually worth as much [as the reward offered]. I just really want it back."

Richardson, who didn't have insurance, posted about the theft online and his message has been shared by concerned friends, family and strangers. He has been checking local pawn shops for the goods, without luck.

The "road-worn" guitar will be easy to spot, he said, as would a Victorinox Swiss Army analogue watch, which has a strap made of parachute cord. The other watch was a green, military-style Casio analogue. The cameras included a dark blue Nikon Coolpix, and Panasonic Lumix.

Anyone with information can contact police, or jackdonald91@outlook.com