Robbery in Georgia USA

All, On of the dealers I consign stones to just got robbed two hours
north of Savannah, Georgia. They had just finished the International
Jewelers Organization Show and were on the road. They stopped for a
burger and came back to their vehicle to find just the cases with the
stones and jewelry missing from their vehicle. Obviously they were
cased by someone in attendance at the show. They were in the
restaurant less than 15 minutes. Stolen were 30 concaved stones of
mine, several 5+ carat Ceylon gem blue sapphires, several 5+ carat
gem spessartine garnets, lots of custom jewelry, and the personal
jewelry collection of the dealer. My concaves are very easy to spot,
some of the stones are concaved on the crown, girdle, and pavilion.
The concaves stolen were aqua’s, citrines, garnets, amethyst,
sapphires, and peridots. We are in the process of reporting the
theft to the FBI. Local police were of very little help and quite
rude to the dealers. If you see any of these stones report it to the
FBI task force.

Gerry Galarneau

All, Thank you for the advice and I will pass it on to the people that
were victimized. Two things of note to all involved in the jewelry
industry. First these dealers are good, honest people who have
invested 9 years of their lives building a reputable business. This
loss has devastated them. They are quitting the business as their
stress level now is way to high for their ages. Mid 60’s. They are
not poor people. They are just like a lot of us who have worked for
a number of years to build a stock they are extremely proud of only
to have a thief take it all in 15 minutes. Second it is my belief that
this is an international group of thief’s. That is why the FBI must
be involved. The people doing the actual robbery are hired by the
true thief who does the casing of the goods and identification of the
target. Once the target is identified it is tracked until the goods
are left unattended. They are stolen in a matter of minutes. The
goods are then transferred to the true thief who arranges for the
transportation of the goods out of country. Usually this takes place
the same day. I have not heard of a piece of jewelry or stone
recovered in the USA yet. This group could have many layers of people
involved. Be advised you are being watched and take appropriate
precautions. Buyers as well as dealers are being watched. Let your
guard down for 15 minutes and you may be the next victim.

Gerry Galarneau

They stopped for a burger and came back to their vehicle to find
just the cases with the stones and jewelry missing from their
vehicle. 

Valuables should NEVER be left alone in a car where they are the most
vulnerable. Insurance companies specifically exclude coverage for
jewelry/stones left in an unattended vehicle.

Beth

Gerry, I’m very sorry to hear of your stolen stones. I am a
subscriber to Art and Antiques, they have a stolen art column in the
magazine. I wonder if LJ and other jeweler’s magazines might do the
same sort of thing. Maybe Suzanne Wade could interject here. Susan
Chastain Just received notice I will be included in Who’s Who for my
contributions to the Art World.