There was a big diamond heist in Europe recently, the second or third this year that I recall. Since diamonds have a pretty poor resale value, what’s the point? Why not go for a smaller heist of precious metal or cash?
My guess is that the thieves did not know how the resale value of diamonds can be.
Even if they have low resale value, that’s still a lot of Euros for every gram you’re holding. And they got it free so a pocketful will make you rich.
- Someone who really liked those particular diamonds may have hired the thieves to do it.
- They saw an opportunity and devised a suitable plan. There may not have been that much cash or precious metals that were as easily obtainable as far as they could determine.
- Maybe they got a thrill out of this particular caper that a different caper could not match.
- Even if the diamonds sell for just a fraction of the $136 million, that’s still not a bad payout for a day’s work.
- We’re assuming it wasn’t some sort of inside job.
This. A resale value of just ten cents on the dollar (just to pick an arbitrarily low payout) is still nearly $14M dollars. That is indeed a nice payout.
There aren’t many comparable shows where precious metals and cash are on display and easy to steal.
Small, ordinary diadmonds have a low resale value. Those stolen in Cannes some days ago were all exceptional stones that will still be extremely valuable once recut.
CNN interviewed a former jewel thief the other day, and he said 20 cents on the dollar would be the expected take. He reported that all the jewels would fit in a fairly normal sized bag.
Then consider that $25 million in $100 bills would weigh more than 500 pounds, or that $25 million in gold would weigh about half a ton.
Every good self-respecting villain knows that it takes a very rare, exceptional diamond stolen in a high-profile heist to focus the beam of an Orbital Death Ray. These thieves will soon dominate the entire planet - what’s the resale value on that?!?
One MILLION dollars! pinky in corner of mouth
A CNN interview (perhaps the same one Ravenman mentions) also discussed the Pink Panther crime ring and the fact that they specialize in diamond theft. Apparently, they have someone on the inside of the diamond biz who can produce the necessary paperwork to get the diamond back into the legal market and so gems are a preferred target for their thefts.
20% is probably still all they get, since the diamonds go into the wholesale market, but thieves never get retail value on anything they steal. Even $100 million in cash won’t be worth face value after the serial numbers are published and you find someone who can help launder that kind of money.
136 million (was it Euros or Pounds?) was the supposed retail value. This would be many times the wholesale value and many many time the ‘hot’ market value. The thieves would also have to find a bent cutter (not cheap) to disguise the memorable stones.
It is still a profitable venture but I think 10% is overoptimistic.
I used to get 15% on any caper over $20 million(US.) This was not that long ago, 4 - 5 years. Don’t know what the going rate is now tho. And I insisted on 20% of any robbery over $100 million(US.)
I suppose because no one was going to just give it to them
I’ve also heard that “jewel thief” and particularly “diamond thief” have a high “street cred” among criminals. It’s the other end of the crime prestige snobbery scale from, say, “child molester.”
From the article here:
It sounds like the show was just being setup and it was before it was open to the public. He took one briefcase and one box and got $136 million of jewels and it was done in one minute.
Presumably once the jewels were spread out into individual display cases it would have taken a lot longer to rob them. Sounds like inside knowledge knowing exactly when the jewels would arrive onsite and before they were put into display cases.
The thief probably has a girlfriend who believes:
“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”
Most Jewel thieves are diamond thieves. Diamonds and gold are very easy to move - other things - like watches - have serial numbers (diamonds do sometimes - but not usually). Rubies, sapphires, and emeralds have no really agreed upon grading system.
You (anyone) can pop diamonds out of their settings - which makes them very hard to recognize without serial numbers or map of their inclusions/flaws.
You can’t detect them on metal detectors and they are pretty easy to hide/smuggle.
What’s not to like?
Other than counterfeiter - I can’t think of a crime I’d consider more “prestigious” than jewel thief. Maybe art thief.
Portability is huge. Diamonds are easy to hide, and easy to transport.
Yah well if it was $25 million, one wouldn’t think a half a ton would be a terrible obstacle. Rent a van? Hire a couple of guys?
I disapprove of stealing of course.