Armed robbers who targeted the De Beers jewelry store in Paris using assault rifles remain at large on Friday, November 13, leaving investigators tracing a stolen cache valued at more than one million euros.
The armed heist on Thursday, November 12, immediately raised pressing questions about how such an immense volume of precious stones can be quietly laundered through the global market. Authorities are focusing part of their investigation on Antwerp, Belgium, which serves as the bustling capital of the international diamond trade.
Eighty percent of the world’s rough diamonds and nearly half of all cut stones are exchanged annually within the Flemish city. This concentration makes the hub a primary point of interest for law enforcement tracking high-end stolen goods.
Inside an Antwerp certification laboratory, specialists verify the origin and traceability of precious stones by engraving microscopic identification markers.
“Ce que l’on fait ici avec cette machine, est que l’on grave un numéro unique sur le diamant. Et cette inscription doit coïncider avec le certificat de vente.”
When a major robbery occurs, police immediately broadcast an alert to professional networks across the sector. Despite these rigorous precautions, the safeguards are far from absolute.
“Il faut être réaliste. Si un diamant est volé, son numéro de série peut être effacé, car c’est une inscription superficielle qui peut être limée.”
Investigators are currently weighing two primary hypotheses surrounding the Paris operation. The first points to a targeted heist commissioned by an external buyer, while the second considers a crime of opportunity that leaves perpetrators scrambling to find a buyer.
If the thieves attempt to disguise the origin of the loot, altering the stones is physically difficult and expensive. Stanislas Gaudon of the Alliance Police Nationale union detailed these mechanical risks.
“On ne peut pas refondre des pierres type le diamant. Par contre, on peut les retravailler, mais ça a un risque. D’abord, vous perdez de la matière, donc vous perdez de la valeur. Ensuite, il y a peut-être un risque que la pierre se brise, et là, vous perdez le bénéfice de ce que vous avez notamment volé.”
souligne Stanislas Gaudon, du syndicat Alliance Police Nationale.
This incident recalls previous high-stakes raids targeting Parisian luxury houses. In the spring of 2024, robbers made off with more than eight million euros in jewelry from the Parisian jeweler Harry Winston in one of the capital’s largest recorded heists.
