Three men dressed in black suits with red ties and fedoras robbed a high-end Madison Avenue jewelry store in a brazen midday smash-and-grab Tuesday, making off with several dozen Rolex watches, authorities said.

The men walked into the Tourneau store near East 53rd Street at about 1 p.m., smashed the display case with wrenches and stole the watches before fleeing on foot, police said. It wasn't clear what their haul was estimated to be worth.

A retired police officer was working in the store and gave chase. One of the suspects was arrested a short time after the theft and authorities recovered some of the stolen watches. The other two suspects remain at large and police were expected to release surveillance images later Tuesday.

The manager of a neighboring store said he heard two loud bangs that sounded like shots, and the initial 911 call about the robbery mentioned bullets had been fired, though police said it appears witnesses mistook the sound of smashing glass for gunfire.

Photos from the packed midtown lunch scene showed some bystanders fleeing the cordoned-off area as others paused to check out the commotion.

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