what do i do if i'm caught doing a watch steal can't i get arrested because i'm sure they wont buy "oh i was using it for my trick and was gonna give it back to you as a gift"

Practise it on friends and family until you can do it while sleeping before trying it on someone you don't know. And if it despite all that goes wrong, RUN!

I wouldn't run, and I wouldn't explain the trick either. Running will get you arrested, and explaining the trick will ruin your magic reputation!

I'd say: "Do you know what time it is?" or compliment them on their watch.

Spec:"WHY THE H**L ARE YOU TAKING MY WATCH!?!?!?"
Me:" Hey, magicians dont get payed a heck of a lot!"

Forget about doing a watch steal. Just put your own watch in your pocket and then sometime during your routine, just pull it out and say, "oh, by the way. Does this look familiar?". This usually gets a laugh as they think that I have somehow gotten a hold of his watch. Then just look at it and say, "Oops! That's my watch." It's pretty funny.

Then you are screwed... But in magic things can't go wrong this is just like asking if a DL goes wrong. I don't do pickpocketing anyways.

The line that I would use would be something along the lines of, "hey, I gotta make a living somehow". But do not think of having a line to fall back on a reason not to perfect the watch steal. If its not perfect, or near perfect, I wouldn't suggest doing it. Also, it might be a good idea not to open with the steal. If you're doing a watch steal a half an hour into a performance and get caught, it looks a little better than being caught on your first or second effect, simply because you have yet to establish that you're a serious magician. Once that is established, I don't think you'd have to worry about the cops being called if you screw up.

In On the Spot, Gregory Wilson uses something like, "Man, I was trying to steal your watch!" and just laughs it off. (And then he manages to steal that guy's watch later on -- a couple of times, if I recall correctly.)

But (as magicdude also alluded to), he did this in the course of an impromptu magic routine. If you go up to someone and immediately attempt to steal their watch, they don't know you're a magician, an entertainer, etc. You're just a petty thief to them, and if all you're doing is watch and wallet steals, you're not doing magic but pickpocketing.

Guess it might help if you gave us a bit more info. on the circumstances you're working under ...