Louvre Robbery

[Shaka Shart]

It's not the same thing and we're talking about movies. 

I'm talking about a movie too

[Uncle Rico]

I'm talking about a movie too

I consider it a documentary and it's a great movie because the bad guys won

[wadesworld]

Inside Man

[Shaka Shart]

Inside Man

Buy me dinner first

[JWags85]

Lot of really interesting facets to this robbery (no pun intended).  But the biggest tragedy, if it was indeed originals that were stolen and won't be recovered, is it nearly ALWAYS leads to the end of the items and/or precious stones.

Hundreds of years ago, even decades, things would get stolen and then randomly appear in a collection when someone died, a house of a collector was sold, or even when items would reappear for sale.  Some of the worlds largest or most famous diamonds were "lost" and then found that way.  But there is no rich or notable collector that either wants to buy something this hot that they can't display or even if its broken up, the technology is such that the stones will be easily able to be traced back to the stolen item.

So what ends up happening is the stones are recut.  So a magnificent huge historical emerald or ruby or diamond that size of a golf ball gets cut into numerous smaller stones and sold that way.  Diamonds can still be tricky when it comes to origin and provenance, especially in stones of that size, as big stones are pretty well known once they come out of the ground, much less polished.  But the colored gemstones trade is literally the Wild West.  A massive rough or polished diamond comes out and a big deal is made of the mine where it was found and who bought and cut the rough.  Yet every year massive colored gemstones appear and MAYBE they know what country it came from, cause it passes through so many hands going to market.

Hopefully they are found, but every day that passes, the chances of recovery plummets.  The irony is those stones, especially the emeralds, are going to end up as smaller stones in the hands of random every day consumers who don't know that their 1-2 carat emerald recut from a stolen necklace commissioned by Napoleon is any different than another emerald in the store mined normally in Colombia.

[Uncle Rico]

Lot of really interesting facets to this robbery (no pun intended).  But the biggest tragedy, if it was indeed originals that were stolen and won't be recovered, is it nearly ALWAYS leads to the end of the items and/or precious stones.

Hundreds of years ago, even decades, things would get stolen and then randomly appear in a collection when someone died, a house of a collector was sold, or even when items would reappear for sale.  Some of the worlds largest or most famous diamonds were "lost" and then found that way.  But there is no rich or notable collector that either wants to buy something this hot that they can't display or even if its broken up, the technology is such that the stones will be easily able to be traced back to the stolen item.

So what ends up happening is the stones are recut.  So a magnificent huge historical emerald or ruby or diamond that size of a golf ball gets cut into numerous smaller stones and sold that way.  Diamonds can still be tricky when it comes to origin and provenance, especially in stones of that size, as big stones are pretty well known once they come out of the ground, much less polished.  But the colored gemstones trade is literally the Wild West.  A massive rough or polished diamond comes out and a big deal is made of the mine where it was found and who bought and cut the rough.  Yet every year massive colored gemstones appear and MAYBE they know what country it came from, cause it passes through so many hands going to market.

Hopefully they are found, but every day that passes, the chances of recovery plummets.  The irony is those stones, especially the emeralds, are going to end up as smaller stones in the hands of random every day consumers who don't know that their 1-2 carat emerald recut from a stolen necklace commissioned by Napoleon is any different than another emerald in the store mined normally in Colombia.

And that's why I only buy conflict diamonds

[Shaka Shart]

Lot of really interesting facets to this robbery (no pun intended).  But the biggest tragedy, if it was indeed originals that were stolen and won't be recovered, is it nearly ALWAYS leads to the end of the items and/or precious stones.

Hundreds of years ago, even decades, things would get stolen and then randomly appear in a collection when someone died, a house of a collector was sold, or even when items would reappear for sale.  Some of the worlds largest or most famous diamonds were "lost" and then found that way.  But there is no rich or notable collector that either wants to buy something this hot that they can't display or even if its broken up, the technology is such that the stones will be easily able to be traced back to the stolen item.

So what ends up happening is the stones are recut.  So a magnificent huge historical emerald or ruby or diamond that size of a golf ball gets cut into numerous smaller stones and sold that way.  Diamonds can still be tricky when it comes to origin and provenance, especially in stones of that size, as big stones are pretty well known once they come out of the ground, much less polished.  But the colored gemstones trade is literally the Wild West.  A massive rough or polished diamond comes out and a big deal is made of the mine where it was found and who bought and cut the rough.  Yet every year massive colored gemstones appear and MAYBE they know what country it came from, cause it passes through so many hands going to market.

Hopefully they are found, but every day that passes, the chances of recovery plummets.  The irony is those stones, especially the emeralds, are going to end up as smaller stones in the hands of random every day consumers who don't know that their 1-2 carat emerald recut from a stolen necklace commissioned by Napoleon is any different than another emerald in the store mined normally in Colombia.

Or in Swiss vaults

[JWags85]

Or in Swiss vaults

Its not highly publicized, but most of the major Swiss institutions require documentation surrounding gems and jewelry.  They are happy to be aloof and unbothered about the flow of funds into the accounts, but they don't like to be sitting on stolen goods or artwork.  There was a fairly large rough diamond that was stolen about 20 years ago from an auction in Antwerp.  Inside job with armored car and some swapping.  The thieves got away pretty cleanly for about 9 months. 

Unbeknownst to most, they didn't polish it but basically cleaved it into 2 pieces.  One was sold to a dealer in London who contacted DeBeers when his buyer fell through (once their monopoly broke down, DeBeers for awhile was pretty obsessive about buying any large rough diamonds discovered anywhere outside of their mines.  Not for any real reason other than pride).  He was directed to the executive at DeBeers who headed up their rough sourcing operations at the time, who is a family friend.  The Debeers exec, coincidentally, was contacted the same week by one of the prestigious Swiss banks who had someone who had deposited/wanted to a hold a large rough diamond there but couldn't provide any sort of purchase/chain of custody info.  The Debeers exec flew down, with the other half of the rough diamond, and basically place them together and see it was two parts of the original stolen stone.

Real National Treasure/James Bond crap, but totally true.  The Debeers guy was basically the point man for finding any of the aforementioned large rough stones and acquiring them for the company, originally in the time before smartphones and the internet.  So it was a lot of flying to places in Europe/Africa and using connections and friends/associates cultivated over decades.  The man has the most insane stories.  He has one about Idi Amin, a Ugandan diamond mine, and using a satellite phone while hiding in a bush away from armed militants distracted by a friendly soldier who he bribed that makes Solomon Vandy and Blood Diamond sound like poorly written African conflict fan fiction.

But yea, long story short, Swiss banks aren't your sealed lip confidant for expensive stolen gems unless MAYBE you're a long standing customer of theirs with tons of other assets under their protection.  But most jewel thieves, even the best ones, aren't super wealthy dudes like Francois Toulour.

[Shaka Shart]

Its not highly publicized, but most of the major Swiss institutions require documentation surrounding gems and jewelry.  They are happy to be aloof and unbothered about the flow of funds into the accounts, but they don't like to be sitting on stolen goods or artwork.  There was a fairly large rough diamond that was stolen about 20 years ago from an auction in Antwerp.  Inside job with armored car and some swapping.  The thieves got away pretty cleanly for about 9 months. 

Unbeknownst to most, they didn't polish it but basically cleaved it into 2 pieces.  One was sold to a dealer in London who contacted DeBeers when his buyer fell through (once their monopoly broke down, DeBeers for awhile was pretty obsessive about buying any large rough diamonds discovered anywhere outside of their mines.  Not for any real reason other than pride).  He was directed to the executive at DeBeers who headed up their rough sourcing operations at the time, who is a family friend.  The Debeers exec, coincidentally, was contacted the same week by one of the prestigious Swiss banks who had someone who had deposited/wanted to a hold a large rough diamond there but couldn't provide any sort of purchase/chain of custody info.  The Debeers exec flew down, with the other half of the rough diamond, and basically place them together and see it was two parts of the original stolen stone.

Real National Treasure/James Bond crap, but totally true.  The Debeers guy was basically the point man for finding any of the aforementioned large rough stones and acquiring them for the company, originally in the time before smartphones and the internet.  So it was a lot of flying to places in Europe/Africa and using connections and friends/associates cultivated over decades.  The man has the most insane stories.  He has one about Idi Amin, a Ugandan diamond mine, and using a satellite phone while hiding in a bush away from armed militants distracted by a friendly soldier who he bribed that makes Solomon Vandy and Blood Diamond sound like poorly written fan African conflict fiction.

But yea, long story short, Swiss banks aren't your sealed lip confidant for expensive stolen gems unless MAYBE you're a long standing customer of theirs with tons of other assets under their protection.  But most jewel thieves, even the best ones, aren't super wealthy dudes like Francois Toulour.

Irish vaults probably more affordable anyway

[MU82]

Irish vaults probably more affordable anyway

Irish you wouldn't have said that.

[The Sultan]

https://bsky.app/profile/brianmfloyd.bsky.social/post/3m3v3ffcwy22k

The security at this place does not seem optimal.

[Shaka Shart]

Irish you wouldn't have said that.

oh look cancel culture is back 

[WhiteTrash]

Its not highly publicized, but most of the major Swiss institutions require documentation surrounding gems and jewelry.  They are happy to be aloof and unbothered about the flow of funds into the accounts, but they don't like to be sitting on stolen goods or artwork.  There was a fairly large rough diamond that was stolen about 20 years ago from an auction in Antwerp.  Inside job with armored car and some swapping.  The thieves got away pretty cleanly for about 9 months. 

Unbeknownst to most, they didn't polish it but basically cleaved it into 2 pieces.  One was sold to a dealer in London who contacted DeBeers when his buyer fell through (once their monopoly broke down, DeBeers for awhile was pretty obsessive about buying any large rough diamonds discovered anywhere outside of their mines.  Not for any real reason other than pride).  He was directed to the executive at DeBeers who headed up their rough sourcing operations at the time, who is a family friend.  The Debeers exec, coincidentally, was contacted the same week by one of the prestigious Swiss banks who had someone who had deposited/wanted to a hold a large rough diamond there but couldn't provide any sort of purchase/chain of custody info.  The Debeers exec flew down, with the other half of the rough diamond, and basically place them together and see it was two parts of the original stolen stone.

Real National Treasure/James Bond crap, but totally true.  The Debeers guy was basically the point man for finding any of the aforementioned large rough stones and acquiring them for the company, originally in the time before smartphones and the internet.  So it was a lot of flying to places in Europe/Africa and using connections and friends/associates cultivated over decades.  The man has the most insane stories.  He has one about Idi Amin, a Ugandan diamond mine, and using a satellite phone while hiding in a bush away from armed militants distracted by a friendly soldier who he bribed that makes Solomon Vandy and Blood Diamond sound like poorly written African conflict fan fiction.

But yea, long story short, Swiss banks aren't your sealed lip confidant for expensive stolen gems unless MAYBE you're a long standing customer of theirs with tons of other assets under their protection.  But most jewel thieves, even the best ones, aren't super wealthy dudes like Francois Toulour.

I'm waiting for Chapter 2 of this post. This is better content than 99% of what comes from Hollywood.

[Uncle Rico]

https://bsky.app/profile/scientits.bsky.social/post/3m3whddpf6k2b

[tower912]

Arrests.   

[Shaka Shart]

Arrests.   

Were they trans?

[Uncle Rico]

Were they trans?

Heard they found "anti-ICE" slogans on the side of the ladder

[JWags85]

I'm waiting for Chapter 2 of this post. This is better content than 99% of what comes from Hollywood.

I'm actually stuck on a conference call with tax accountants in India while I watch SNF and half the conversation turns into side conversations in Hindi, so I might as well write a follow up    I don't remember if there was a way to spoiler text so people could easily scroll past the novella, but either way, feel free to TL;DR.

****

So I mixed up the Uganda stories slightly, the good one was in the 90s well past Idi Amin, but in his younger years, he was more or less forced to "teach" Amin how to evaluate rough diamonds in a 30 min crash course one time during his reign.

So brief background, our family friend, Andy, was/is a DeBeers lifer.  Started out in rough sourcing and trading in West Africa and worked his way up until he ran all diamond sourcing for DeBeers globally out of London.  He's lived the sort of professional life that would seem fantastical if not for how casually and nonplussed he is when describing it.  He didn't marry or have a daughter until his mid 40s because he spent his 20s and 30s in really rough places, evidenced by the fact that he was an instrumental and involved member of the creation of the Kimberley Process (created to prevent conflict diamonds from entiring the global diamond supply) because not one, but 2 villages/towns where he lived in Sierra Leone were completely leveled by militants within a year of him moving away.  Needless to say the idea of "blood diamonds" in reality versus the buzzword posturing about them in public parlance is a meaningful and important one to him.

Anyways, back to the aforementioned story.  He'd moved to DeBeers HQ in London after 2 decades in various parts of West/South Africa and was kind of a fixer for sourcing issues for them.  DeBeers owns a bunch of mines, primarily in South Africa, Botswana, Canada, and Namibia, but they've always supplemented that supply with rough from other countries, whether its smaller mines throughout Africa or buying rough from Alrosa, the Russian government diamond miner (also hilarious to hear him talk about how clueless and naive the Russians were in business and negotiations post USSR and how they absolutely fleeced Alrosa for years).  So when big rough diamonds were found, like I mentioned, he'd get sent, or if there was rough supply from a mine for sale out of normal circumstances, same deal.  They had right of first refusal at many mines, but others were a different story.

So one Friday afternoon, he gets a call about a situation in Uganda.  Not Amin, but that legendary pretty boy Joseph Kony and his rebels had seized a diamond mine in Uganda during one of the LRA's forays from the north in the 90s.  It was a mine that traditionally sold to DeBeers, but obviously the rebels DGAF and a few months production was up for grabs and its critical they get there and buy it before others get word and a bidding war starts.  So he's on the next British Airways flight to Nairobi.  There, he is met by one of their field associates and taken right to a nearby runway to a private jet that is totally white...no markings or tail numbers.  Already an dicey start.  So they take the quick flight to Uganda and approach the airstrip and make 3 passes cause they have to chase a herd of goats off the tarmac.

So they land and meet their contact and get taken to the palace that the rebels have commandeered as a HQ.  They enter the master bedroom to find the thousands of carats of rough supply.  They start to assess and value the goods.  The rebel lieutenant supervising them starts to get antsy after a half hour and is basically like "how much longer will this take?"  Normally a site this large would take a few days between weighing, inspection, talking to the market to get an idea of what supply is like, etc...  The lieutenant scoffs and says "you have 3 hours".  And again, the urgency is that there are plenty of other traders and smaller mining concerns who are hovering to try and buy, not just for the supply, but to weaken the DeBeers relationship with that mine/area.

So they hurriedly value the rough stones as best they can and head back to the hotel.  Andy takes his big old school satellite phone that was in a briefcase and heads into the field/clearing near the hotel to call back to London and get approval for the buy and subsequent wire.  As he's doing that, he feels a tickle in his ear.  He slightly turns, as he hears a click, to realize its the barrel of a rifle held by a rebel soldier.  The soldier growls that "it is illegal to have a radio in this province without a license", a throwback to the Amin years where radios were banned across the country. 

(Andy remarked when telling the story that he always got insanely calm when frightened/endangered.  Not because he was particularly brave or steely, but it was one of the things his military officer father had taught him early on.  Basically just completely neutralize yourself emotionally whenever you get afraid and work from 0)

So he quickly blurts out "Oh, I was actually looking to purchase a radio license".  The soldier immediately brightened and said "I can sell you such a license".  After happily accepting a generous bribe, he was Andy's shadow until he left the next day.  He directed Andy to a thicket to duck behind and make his call while he stood watch and chatted up any soldiers who came by to distract them.

He gets approval from DeBeers and the purchase moves forward.  The next morning they go and get the rough diamonds as soon as they can cause word has spread quickly.  They tear back to the airstrip to get the hell out.  As the same marking-free jet starts to spool its engines, they are literally chucking cardboard boxes of rough diamonds from the SUV into the plane.  Multiple black SUVs come speeding up to the airstrip.  Some have diamond dealers, some other soldiers working with said dealers, just chaos as they are being held back/delayed by the soldiers that escorted Andy and his associates to the airstrip.  Shouting, pushing, guns brandishing, Belgians, Israelis, South Africans, just a complete scene

As Andy is trying to get out, an American journalist exits one of the SUVs and comes running up asking him questions about the buy details and the negotiation.  Not so much trying to get the diamonds, but wanting detail on everything that happened. Andy recognized him from a few other African encounters prior and later and realized a few years later that he was very likely CIA. 

They get on the plane and start to taxi, and by that point 2-3 SUVs coming up to the airstrip had turned into 5-6 plus jeeps.  But at least that spooked most of the livestock away from the tarmac.

****

Andy told me this story over dinner in Kensington the first time I met him.  He even chuckled that it wasn't even one of the best of his stories, as evidenced by my father interjecting a few details that Andy forgot, from the other times my father had heard them.  "I never worried about my safety too much in Uganda over the years, surprisingly, but maybe that was just cause they were such a bloody nuisance that I didn't have headspace for much else there"

It was a perfect first meeting too, cause I always jokingly cast doubt on this guy's existence.  My dad knows a ton of people from 30 years in the diamond/gem industry, but he's very much an engineer and his close friends/associates were usually similar types who ran the gem labs or other tech/equipment manufacturers.  But he always talked about his close friend Andy from DeBeers who sounded like James Bond.  Then I finally meet him after hearing about him for a decade, posh and wearing a ascot inside a leather jacket and dropping a story like this.  Just as described.  But just a fantastic individual, the exact opposite of a bunch of the arrogant stuffed shirts I am using to dealing with at DeBeers (the Americans working at DeBeers in London are particularly the worst), and truly one of the funniest/most traveled/cultured people you could imagine.

He'll never write a book cause he just can't be arsed to and is enjoying retirement far too much, but it would sell fantastically well if he did.

[WhiteTrash]

Jwags, this is great stuff. Thanks for sharing. If he ever decided to write a book, I nominate you as a co-writer.

[Uncle Rico]

https://bsky.app/profile/perryodontal.bsky.social/post/3m4qlsg5a2k2l