Masked thieves broke into the showroom of Milan jeweller Damiani on Sunday and made off with bags of jewels in a brazen daylight heist.
Employees were preparing for a VIP showing as the bandits broke into the showroom around 10 a.m., Damiani CEO Guido Damiani said Wednesday. The stolen jewels included included gold, platinum, diamonds and rubies, though apparently no pearls.
Established 85 years ago, the family-run business Damiani has been bejeweling stars for Oscar night for the last several years.
Hollywood stars Isabella Rosellini, Brad Pitt, Gwyenth Paltrow and Sharon Stone are among its celebrity promoters.
Damiani, maker of the diamond bracelet that graced Oscar winner Tilda Swinton's wrist, is not issuing estimates, but dismissed a figure of 7.52 million U.S. dollars that is being cited by the Italian media.
Damiani said the safe normally would have had even more valuable but a "significant number" were loaned to stars attending the Oscars Sunday, including a diamond bracelet that graced Oscar winner Tilda Swinton.
It will a long investigation since the heist was highly professional with few traces left, the lead investigator said.
Damiani said the robbers, wearing face masks and dark glasses, had drilled into the basement from a neighboring building with thick walls.
The robbers forced four showroom employees, a caterer and a cleaning woman into a room, where they were bound. One of the Damiani employees was forced to open the safe, but bound with the others during the theft.
Source: Xinhua
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