Beate Hitzler, Günter Wichmann

Spectacular diamond theft

A luxurious exhibition of antiques and jewellery in 2004 ended with a spectacular theft: on the second-last day of the exhibition, unidentified thieves stole two diamonds worth a total of US$ 8.5m. Within seconds, the jewels had been pocketed by the thieves.

This diamond theft is one of the biggest cases in French criminal history. The thieves were able to prise open the showcase in a flash and make off with two diamonds, one 16 and one 40 carats. Although the serious crimes squad were relatively quickly on the scene and conducted their investigations through Interpol, the thieves are still at large.

A professionally planned heist

The thieves went about their business with utmost precision. There were few visitors to the 20 sqm booth in the early afternoon of the second-last day of the exhibition, but around 3 p.m. three groups of between three and five people each as well as a number of individuals showed an interest in the impressive display of jewels at an internationally renowned jeweller.

The four employees and two security guards hired by the jewellers were fully occupied with the visitors. Two of the employees presented a jewel from one of the six showcases to potential customers, while the other two answered lots of detailed questions by the other visitors.

The various visitors, numbering at least twelve people, remained in the sales booth for roughly 15 minutes and then gradually departed. Their visit was immediately followed by one from a VIP delegation of six to eight people, including the wife of the French President. When the President's wife asked to be shown a number of jewels, one of the employees discovered that two of the four diamonds were missing from one of the locked showcases. To avoid any fuss, they did not inform the police until after the VIP delegation had left the booth.

Jewellers' block

The sales booth and the goods were originally insured under a so-called jewellers' block policy, an all-risks insurance specifically for the jewellery business. Trade fairs and exhibitions can be included in the cover in return for an additional premium.

Special security requirements apply on account of the substandard risk exposure commonly associated with such events. The goods must be kept exclusively in locked showcases during the exhibition, remain under permanent supervision and be kept in a safe outside normal exhibition hours.

One basic requirement is that the level of security must always correspond with the value of the goods concerned. To ensure that this is the case, security experts who specialise in this line of business are normally requested to take the necessary measures on site. In this particular case, it was found that the showcase was not suitable for the goods it contained.

The showcase was broken into

The stolen diamonds were contained in a standard showcase comprising a wooden pillar with a glass case on top. The glass top was secured by a hinge at the back of the showcase and secured by a simple lock.

The thieves had evidently first attempted in vain to pry open the showcase. Then they presumably inserted a knife blade between the wooden frame and the glass top, thus breaking off a chip so that they could open the lock and lift off the top.

Conclusion

Although the theft was planned and executed in an extremely professional manner, it could have been prevented by an adequate security concept commensurate with the risk.

A general concept should be devised in advance by a specialist security expert and tailored to the specific situation and goods concerned, taking into account not only mechanical but also electronic and organisational measures.

The following security measures should have been taken:

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  Valuable jewels to be distributed over several showcases
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  Showcases connected to an alarm system, with burglarproof glass and sophisticated locks, such as electronic security locks with a special numerical combination and delayed opening
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  24-hour video surveillance of the sales booth (with a clearly visible sign indicating this)
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  Alarm and video surveillance linked to a security company
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  Controlled access, for instance with barrier posts and cordons in order to keep the number of visitors in line with the size of the booth.

Such security measures are often burdensome for the policyholder, but they are indispensable if such highly exposed risks are to be insured. Jewels and diamonds are highly coveted on account of their considerable material value, and organised crime is burgeoning in this sector. The next thieves are patiently waiting for the next opportunity to present itself.