£ 10 mln Stolen from an Italian jeweller while hosting Oscars party

The showroom of a famous Italian jeweller was broken into; the thieves stole items for up to £10 mln while the owners were hosting a party celebrating the Oscars. The robbery was compared with the “perfect” robberies in films like Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job.

The gang had spent more than a month digging a tunnel from a disused cellar in an adjoining building. Police said that the drilling had been heard for weeks but was presumed to be part of continuing building works next door. The four thieves, dressed in balaclavas, sunglasses and fake uniforms of the Guardia di Finanza, used an internal staircase to reach the first floor, thus avoiding alarms and video surveillance cameras.

The reason the showroom had been opened was a private viewing from wealthy customers and there were only five employees there, including a cleaning lady and a member of the catering staff, as well as the manager. The thieves overpowered the staff, tied them up, sealed their mouths with tape and locked them in the washroom. Then they made their way to the jewellery and left the way they had come in the first place.

Damiani, founded in 1924 and known as the jeweller to the stars, is run by Guido, Giorgio and Silvia Damiani, the third generation of the family. The firm has won the Diamonds International Award 18 times, and its customers have included Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow. It supplied the diamond-studded bracelet worn by Tilda Swinton at the Oscars ceremony.

Staff at Damiani said that the leader of the gang had a “southern Italian” accent. The stolen pieces of diamond-studded gold jewellery included necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings. Damiani said that the total loss would not be known until an inventory had been completed, but that all the jewellery in the store was insured.