A substantial 16.64 carat yellow diamond that was stolen at gunpoint from Graff jewelers in London in 2007 has resurfaced at a Hong Kong pawn shop. Graff is suing the pawnshop in the Manhattan state Supreme Court in New York for the gem’s return. After acquiring the diamond, the pawnshop submitted the gem to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for certification. Despite having been recut after it was stolen, the GIA recognized the gem as the same yellow diamond  it had certified for Graff in the past. The stone is currently  in the posession of the GIA until the legal issues surrounding its ownership are resolved.

"Graff is and was the true owner of the diamond and entitled to immediate possession of the diamond," says the lawsuit, arguing that the GIA was obliged, under international law, to return the stone to them. 

The GIA is not releasing the stone without consent of the pawnbroker, who is not willing to give it up. The pawnbroker is seeking a legal resolution to the conflict and compensation for his purchase--the pawn shop claims it paid  $386,000  for the diamond, which was recut after it was stolen.

“We are now negotiating. My lawyers said maybe we could come to a compromise about how much we need to pay to get it back before the court case starts,” said Sam Hung, director of the pawnshop.

After purchasing the stolen diamond, the pawnshop sent it to the GIA in New York for appraisal. The GIA staff recognized it as the one stolen from Graff—they had certified the original Graff stone— even though it had been recut and re-polished into a smaller modified cushion cut stone. The GIA is not commenting on the stone’s value.

Sam Hung, director of the Yau On pawn shop in Hong Kong says he was not aware that the diamond was stolen when he purchased it.

“When I received the diamond, I had documentation about where I bought it but I had no method of knowing the source…But we did pay for it. We’re a pawn shop. We are now negotiating,” said On.

The 2007 robbery was committed by two “well dressed” men who arrived in a chauffeur-driven Bentley Continental. According to accounts of the crime, the well dresses men asked a sales person to show them jewelry and pulled out their guns and announced they were robbers as the sales person was unlocking the display cabinet. Store staff was instructed to lie face down on the floor. One of the robbers watched over the staff as the other filled a bag with approximately $20 million worth of jewelry. The robbers, men described as having a stocky build and being between 40-55 years old, then apparently calmly walked out of the store and were never seen again and the case has not been solved.

Graff has suffered a string of robberies in recent years. In 2003, a Serbian gang known as the “Pink Panthers” stole approximately $23 million worth of jewelry from Graff’s flagship store. In 2009, gems worth $66 million were stolen in what turned out to be one of Britain’s biggest jewelry thefts.

 

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