The story of the worlds largest diamond heist schneier. The untold story of the worlds biggest diamond heist wired. Enter scott andrew selby, a harvard law grad and diamond expert, and greg campbell, author of blood diamonds, who undertook a global. The diamond hoax of 1872 was a swindle in which a pair of prospectors sold a false american diamond deposit to prominent businessmen in san francisco and new york city. Four men, wearing klm a major dutch airline uniforms caught. Inside the largest diamond heist in history for you. The antwerp diamond center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. There are plenty of thieves daring enough to pull it off in the real world. The masterminds behind the largest burglary in english legal history have finally been convicted. Feb 19, 20 the heist is one of the largest diamond thefts in history and will raise serious questions about whether the thieves were tipped off to the location of the jewels by an insider, and how they could. How a group of elderly men carried out the biggest diamond.
This may have been the worst diamond heist in history. The diamond is the centerpiece of an asymmetric necklace with a trailing on the left side of 18 emeraldcut diamonds and to the right two rows of pearshaped emeralds, offering a contrasting. Inside the largest diamond heist in history scott andrew selby, don hagen on. Snow crunched under the policemens feet as they hurried to the antwerp world diamond centre. The most daring diamond heist in recent history the. May 16, 20 after this heist, the team split up, magically disappearing into rush hour traffic. Following sundays heist in cannes, we look at the top 10 diamond and jewellery thefts. Flawless by scott andrew selby and greg cambell takes a look at the heist at the diamond center in antwerp. Highprofile jewelry heists arent just the stuff of movies. As far as heists go, there seem to be three popular ways of stealing diamonds. History of a good heist but it can drag you to certain facts you may not understand by the way the antwerp and police and security do their jobs, something that can be petty but a way for thieves can figure what is open to tinker and get inside the most open society but also the society that does not like people knowing what they have hidden. Two authorities on the diamond trade deliver a thrilling playbyplay account of a 2003 heist in antwerp, belgium.
Inside the largest diamond heist in history by scott andrew selby and greg campbell. They recreate the heist and its aftermath, detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the diamond centers vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing. The biggest and most sensational diamond heists in history. One of the biggest diamonds in history has been discovered in the mountainous kingdom of lesotho in southern africa. With hundreds of millions of dollars worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Target of perfect brussels diamond heist was cash not. The largest diamond heist flawless antwerp diamond. Or at the very least, a sure thing with the right amount. It also triggered a brief diamond prospecting craze in the western united states, in arizona, new mexico, utah, wyoming, and colorado. The 7 biggest diamond heists in recent memory us news. It looks like we dont have any akas for this title yet. Top 10 jewellery and diamond heists justcollecting.
The history of diamonds claims stories of famous diamonds often have complex and even controversial histories because of the secrecy surrounding such stones the star of africa at 530. If you are going to write about the largest diamond heist in history, it should be as breathtaking and as suspenseful as the robbery itself. The group of men, aged between 47 to 76, were found guilty of stealing some. It took place in antwerp, belgium, during the weekend of 1516 february 2003. Mar 15, 2009 if you are interested in the antwerp diamond center heist, a book on the subject is coming out in february called flawless. Did the pink panther gang strike again on the weekend. Figure 4 vault of the antwerp diamond center after the 2003 heist.
One of the largest diamonds ever found dug up in lesotho. The story of the worlds largest diamond heist schneier on. Judging by the raging success of diamond thieves in hollywood movies, one might think walking away with millions in diamonds is a snap. A devastating diamond heist would probably not come to mind immediately. Diamonds have a long history as beautiful objects of desire. Inside the largest diamond heist in history selby, scott andrew, hagen, don on. Some thieves try to get away with uncut stones because theyre less recognizable.
Getty diamond traders arent saying it openly, but its clear they think one of their colleagues was perhaps implicated in the plot, youri steverlynck, spokesman for antwerps diamond high council, told the bbc in february 2003 after thieves cleared out 123 of the 160 maximumsecurity vaults in belgiums diamond center the biggest diamond heist in the countrys history. An amazing true crime story and one of the very best ever. The heist was accomplished without a shot being fired. A diamond has to go through a lot before it reaches the jewelers display case. In february 2003, a band of professional italian thieves known as the school of turin carried out the largest diamond heist in history. The result is a thrilling ride through the betterthanfiction heist of the century. Mar 11, 2010 getty diamond traders arent saying it openly, but its clear they think one of their colleagues was perhaps implicated in the plot, youri steverlynck, spokesman for antwerps diamond high council, told the bbc in february 2003 after thieves cleared out 123 of the 160 maximumsecurity vaults in belgiums diamond center the biggest diamond heist in the countrys history. History of diamonds this is your complete diamond history. Inside the largest diamond heist in history,sometimes, you just need a recommendation best books. The heist is one of the largest diamond thefts in history and will raise serious questions about whether the thieves were tipped off to the location. Flawless inside the largest diamond heist in history pdf best of all, they are entirely free to find, use and download, so there is no cost or stress at all. Inside the largest diamond heist in history mp3 cd. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the akas submission guide.
Aug, 20 highprofile jewelry heists arent just the stuff of movies. Like oceans 11, there are teams who work for months, or. A little while back, an unusual diamond robbery made headlines. Then how is it that the door is wide open and im standing inside the vault. This may have been the worst diamond heist in history an albuquerque museum was robbed of a diamond that was returned the next day the stolen diamond looked nothing like these. On february 15, 2003, a group of thieves broke into an allegedly airtight. Antwerps diamond center, 2003 top 10 brazen heists time. Inside the largest diamond heist in history by scott. The 5 most extraordinary diamond heists spot the fake one. Several people have been detained by the police in connection with the heist diamond recovered.
Inside ringing alarms and broken locks informed them that the centres vault had been the scene of the centurys largest diamond heist. Declan lawn takes a journey into britains criminal underworld in search of the secrets behind one of the most audacious diamond heists in british history. The book goes through the background behind the crime, scrupulously detailing the work of the school of turin, a group of mostly smalltime thieves who pulled off the score of a lifetime. However, that is exactly what notarbartolo is famous for his principle role in the largest diamond heist in history. In 2003, a group of italian thieves known as the the school of turin broke into the underground vault of the antwerp diamond center, then protected by. Inside the largest diamond heist in history by scott andrew selby and greg campbell, a caper movie in print, complete with european locations and a dash of journalistic scuttlebutt. Compared to other crimes, they involve a higher level of prowess, more intricate planning and carefully refined skills which leaves many of them unsolved for decades. The venue was belgiums hypersecure diamond vaults, the most secure vaults outside of fort knox, so secure they were regarded as totally impenetrable. Witnesses described the theft as involving eight robbers dressed up like police officers. Inside the largest diamond heist in history unabridged by scott andrew selby isbn.
Or in this case a very wellresearched nonfiction book. Inside the largest diamond heist in history audiobook by scott andrew selby, greg campbell. What was unusual about it was the fact that the thief, richard mackenzie mathews, chose to switch the real diamond with a synthetic one, and then swallowed the jewel to get rid of the evidence. This is a reconstruction of the february 17, 2003, burglary of the diamond center in antwerp, belgium.
The untold story of the worlds biggest diamond heist. The 5 most extraordinary diamond heists spot the fake one diamond heists are intriguing. He took the elevator, descending two floors underground to a small, claustrophobic room the vault antechamber. Inside the largest diamond heist in history reprint by author of blood diamonds scott andrew selby and greg campbell isbn. He took the elevator, descending two floors underground to a small, claustrophobic roomthe vault antechamber. They were masked, and were brandishing laserequipped machine guns as they made for a zurichbound helvetic. The heist was more like something out of a gangster film than a sophisticated plot like oceans thirteen it was a truck hijacking, plain and simple.
If you are interested in the antwerp diamond center heist, a book on the subject is coming out in february called flawless. Inside the largest diamond heist in history from the worlds largest community of readers. In the first century ad, the roman naturalist pliny stated. This was the work of eight men in brussels who stole fifty million dollars worth of diamonds from a planes cargo and escaped from the same way they. Diamond is the most valuable, not only of precious stones, but of all things in this world.
Reported at the time as the largest cash robbery in u. Feb 20, 20 fifty million dollars for a three minute job. They did so without tripping an alarm or injuring a single guard in the process. Inside the largest diamond heist in history selby, scott andrew, campbell, greg on. In 2003, the largest diamond heist in history occurred and the author delights the reader with the stepbystep preparation and execution of the amazing robbery. There was a combination wheel with numbers from 0 to 99. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Largest diamond heist in history galeries du diamant. The robbery in 2003 was the biggest diamond heist the world has ever seen. It contains a wealth of information about the diamond business. Two weeks before the heist, the thieves did a test run in a stolen klm cargo. Case in point, the largest diamond heist in history was over three years in the planning. Located in the heart of belgiums ultrasecure diamond district, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the.
I picked it up, expecting another yawn story of another yawn great train robbery but six hours later, i found myself halfway through the book, rooting get this. It details the 2003 diamond heist by the most skilled italian diamond thieves headed by leonardo notarbartolo. Antwerp, belgium is the diamond capital of the world and through the ultra secure diamond district, millions upon million of dollars worth of gems 80% of the worlds available supply. Though arrests were made and time was served, most of the diamonds stolen remain unrecovered. Jan 15, 2016 the masterminds behind the largest burglary in english legal history have finally been convicted. Although the crime was perfect, the getaway was not. The site of the graff diamonds robbery in 2003, the.
It seems like i am doing a lot of complaining, but the book is actually absorbing. Clever disguises, dangerous firearms, and a greased lightningfast aircraft burglary prior to takeoff became the main ingredients of what is arguably the most daring diamond heist in recent history. The antwerp diamond heist, dubbed the heist of the century, was one of the largest robberies in history. In 2003, it controlled 55 percent of the global diamond supply and operated mines in south africa, namibia, and botswana, among others. On february 15, 2003, a group of thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in the international diamond capital of antwerp, belgium and made. I picked it up, expecting another yawn story of another yawn great train robbery but six hours later, i found. It makes me wonder how a heist or a diamond heist for that matter can be professionally done.