Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives are on the hunt for a thief who stole several watches from a city jewellery store during a brazen daylight theft.

At around 11:20am on Wednesday 7 September the unknown male entered the Collins St store and asked to look at three Rolex watches.

He tried one watch on and spoke to the store attendant for a few minutes, while the other two watches remained on the counter.

When the attendant’s attention was distracted by another customer, the man seized the watches and fled the store without paying.

He escaped north along Collins St and was last seen running down Collins St near Exhibition.

The offender is described as being Caucasian and aged between 25-30 years.

He is believed to be around 170cm tall and of medium build, with short black hair and a goatee.

He was wearing a black jacket, dark grey pants and white runners at the time of the incident.

Detectives have released images of a man they believe could assist them with their enquiries.