All Charms | Lovelinks | Italian Charm Bracelets | Nomination | Tweetie Charms

Jewellery heists aren’t just the stuff of movies. They actually do exist.

They may not be frequent or as straight forward as the movies would like you to believe as they do take a lot of careful planning and precision, which can sometimes take years to perfect.

Now we are a jewellery store with two beautiful shops which we are very proud of, so in no way are we promoting the idea of stealing jewellery; however we thought we would look back at some of the biggest jewellery heists in history!

The Museon Museum Jewel Heist

December 2002 saw jewellery thieves pull off one of the most mysterious diamond heists of all time.

The Museon – a science museum in The Hague, Netherlands – were due to host a diamond exhibit to educate the public about the gems. The museum had a collection of gems on display, including Royal Pieces such as a wedding gift given by King William III to Queen Mary II of England in the 1600s.

The Tuesday morning after the exhibit, museum officials arrived to find that six of the diamond exhibit’s 28 display cases were empty. They either disappeared on Sunday night or Monday morning as the museum closed on a Mondays, making the theft undetected for at least one day!

Security guards were monitoring all entrances and exits 24/7 as well as 24 hour surveillance cameras that covered ever section of the museum. The glass cabinets were in a motion detection zone and the displays that housed the valuable pieces were made of reinforced glass, making it almost impossible to break in.

To this day no one has any idea of how it happened. Nothing showed up on the video footage, and the guards saw nothing. The motion sensors never went off and the display cabinets had no evidence of being tampered with. There was only one sign of a break in, a smashed window leading to the museum, and of course the empty cases.

The complexity and precision of the heist proved that the thieves were receiving inside information but investigators weren’t able to make any connection between the museum staff and the robbery.

A price tag of $12 million was eventually put on the robbery; however the stolen pieces had historical significance making the haul completely priceless. The gems will probably never show up for auction as they are too famous to go unnoticed.

The case was reluctantly closed due to lack of leads.

Harry Winston Jewellery Heist

The Harry Winston jewellery store in Paris

One of the biggest jewellery heists in history was the strike on the Harry Winston store in Paris. On December 4^th 2008; $118 million dollars worth of jewellery was stolen.

Four armed robbers arrived at the store just before it was about to close and requested an entrance over the intercom. Three of them were dressed in drag, with long blonde tresses, sunglasses and winter scarves.

The foursome rocked up with a small suitcase on wheels and pulled out a hand grenade and a .357 Magnum, smashed all the display cabinets, shouted orders to employees, many of them by their first name. In less than 20 minutes they made off with millions of dollars worth of emeralds, rubies, and very large diamonds.

Original suspects included members of the Pink Panther gang that operates out of the Balkans who have been involved in other high-profile jewel thefts in the past, however they were ruled out when on June 22, 25 suspects were arrested.

Nothing has been said about whether the jewels were recovered or not.

Carlton Jewellery Store

The Carlton Hotel in France where the robbery took place

Yet another robbery in France and one of the biggest heists of all time. In 1994 the Carlton Jewellery Store in Cannes was robbed of $60 million dollars worth of stock.

This heist was more like the action thriller movies which saw three men burst into the Carlton Hotel’s jewellery store firing machine guns into the air. Store employees and customers panicked as the thieves quickly packed nearly $60 million dollars worth of jewels into their bags before they made their escape.

It was later found that the rounds were in fact blanks and that the thieves and their jewels are still at large.

Antwerp Diamond Heist

The Diamond Vault after the robbery

Antwerp is one of the two diamond capitals in the world, the other one being Dubai, in the UAE.

Eighty per cent of the world’s uncut gems go through Antwerp and most of them are stored in the underground vault of the Antwerp Diamond Centre building.

In 2003 the world’s largest diamond heist took place in Anterwerp, Belgium. Around $100 million dollars worth of jewels were stolen, making the crime one of the biggest hauls in the whole of history.

Four people were supposedly planning the theft and had been for years. The thieves rented office space in the building in 2000 and analysed the alarm system and learned exactly how they could bypass it. And it is still not known how they pulled off the heist as the vault was thought to be impenetrable.

Protected by ten layers of security, including infrared heat detectors, Doppler radar, a magnetic field, a seismic sensor and a lock with 100 million possible combinations, the thieves obtained the keys and made copies.

The thieves recorded over the security cameras and inserted fake tapes into the surveillance system to cover their movements.

And out of the 189 safety deposit boxes only 100 were emptied. The thieves had too many diamonds to carry and were forced to leave the rest unopened.

Diamond Centre employees came in to find loose diamonds all over the vault.

The thieves were later identified as a group known as the School of Turin – renowned for not using violence. The investigation made its way to Italy were most of the group were arrested.

One of the thieves had left his DNA on a half eaten sandwich among diamond carry bags dumped in a ditch around the crime scene.

Another thief’s DNA was found in the vault.

Leonardo Notarbartolo the leader of the gang had been storing diamonds at the Diamond Centre for years and had somehow passed all background checks.

He was later released from prison based on circumstantial evidence.

The $100 million dollars worth of gems have never been found.

If you are looking for your own jewellery that doesn’t break the bank then you need to get your hands on the beautiful charm bracelets from AllCharms.co.uk.

Their website has a wide collection of bracelets to suit everyone’s tastes including nomination charms and Italian charm bracelets to suit your taste and budget.

Visit AllCharms.co.uk today.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and for millions of couple around the world, that means that a personal and touching gift is in order. From roses to chocolates, jewelry to exotic travel, the vast majority of Valentine’s Day gifts aren’t too much of a challenge when you know your partner well.

These five Valentine’s Day gifts are sure to keep things warm and friendly. While a personal gift is always the best idea, it’s often difficult to find something when you simply haven’t been with your partner long enough. These five gift ideas are as close to a sure-thing as you can get, and are very unlikely to fail you.

1.    Flowers, especially roses.

Flowers are one of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts, and it’s very difficult to argue with their success. Despite being slightly cliché, flowers are a great gift to give if you’re not absolutely sure what your partner would enjoy. While those in long-term relationships might feel comfortable giving a more personal gift, new romances are often better off sticking with what works, and roses are certainly effective.

2.    Valentine’s chocolates.

It’s hard to go wrong with a box of chocolates, especially high-end boutique chocolates and chocolate gift sets. Ask your partner what type of chocolate they prefer before you go out to buy them. So you don’t set off any alarm bells, be sure to ask them in a discrete and disguised way. Once you’ve got their chocolate preference, go out and pick up their desired strength and style, and be sure to wrap things up neatly.

3.    A Valentine’s Day card.

Sometimes a gift might seem like too much or too impersonal of a present. A simple card is often the best gift to give – it’s simple, very personal, and a great platform for sharing your feelings with someone. If you’re stuck for something to give to your Valentine’s Day date, cut the search short and settle on a nice card, a romantic dinner, and some great conversation.

4.    Charm Bracelets.

Charm bracelets are all the rage right now, and they’re undoubtedly one of the best Valentine’s Day presents available. Guys, if you’re looking for a perfect gift, pick up a charm bracelet for your girl, plus a charm for her to remember you by. A wide range of brands and styles are available, including Pandora, Nomination, and Lovelinks, all of which are particularly hot right now.

But what if your partner already has a charm bracelet? This may seem like a bad situation, but it’s really a great opportunity. Instead of worrying about finding another gift, pick up a new charm for them, allowing them to complete their bracelet with memories of you.

After months of anticipation and endless drum-rolling, All Charms are delighted to announce that their stunning new website has now launched.

Featuring a glittering array of charms and charm bracelets, AllCharms.co.uk are bracing themselves for the Christmas run-in as word spreads about the new website and the beautiful selection of Lovelinks charms and Nomination charms available.

Charm bracelets have experienced a huge renaissance in the last twelve months and they’ve become a must-have accessory for ladies of all ages. They’re also exceedingly popular with men who no longer have to struggle with gift ideas; once a lady has her charm bracelet, all she ever wants is more and more charms to personalise her wrist in her own special way.

All Charms also have further ranges of jewellery available online, such as earrings, pendants, bangles and bracelets – all featuring stunning, contemporary designs from as little as £10 – making the perfect gift for a loved one this Christmas or even just a pocket-friendly Secret Santa gift!

Charm bracelets are classic, funky, stylish, cool, trendy, sexy, personal and beautiful all rolled into one.

In fact, you can make your charm bracelet be whatever you want it to be through beautiful charms which tell the story of your life.

Many people give a charm bracelet as a gift to their children or grandchildren, so they can build on their charms and add to the bracelet however they please.

These sentimental gifts can last a lifetime and can most definitely stand out more than any piece of jewellery you see on others, as the bracelet you are wearing is completely unique.

However, as women get older, they find that the dangle charms are too young for their style and want to opt for a more sophisticated shape while at the same time tell the world about the person they are.

Well, believe it or not there is a way to do this, and the bracelet is officially known as an Italian charm bracelet.

The Italian charm bracelet is made up of links which can be disconnected, swapped around and added too to create the style you want for your night out, day of shopping or special occasion.

And there really are thousands of links to choose from which will allow you to reflect your personality in the right way.

For more information visit www.allcharms.co.uk today.

It’s not just fashion-focussed girls who are loving the renaissance of charm bracelets in the UK – lads are too!

No, we’re not talking about blokes showing off their wrists decorated in silver jewellery; we mean that Christmas presents have suddenly become a whole lot easier for gents whose partners love their charms!

Charms can range from £20 to over £1,000 depending on what you’re buying, so there is potential for guys to really splash out on their other half, safe in the knowledge that they’ll be thrilled to bits with yet another addition to their growing, glittering bracelet. You can’t go wrong!

Allcharms have a huge array of charms from a whole host of brands, such Lovelinks and Nomination charms, so with your Christmas purchase just a few clicks away, how easy can it get?!