London Diamond Exhibition Shut Down After Robbery Tip-Off

The London Natural History Museum shut down a major diamond exhibition three months early yesterday. The abrupt closure came in light off a tip off received by Scotland Yard's Flying Squad.

The exhibition, billed as 'the world's most dazzling diamonds', included the De Beers Millennium Star, a 203-carat pear shaped diamond, the Steimetz Pink, the world's largest flawless diamond; the Ocean Dream, the world's largest naturally occurring deep blue-green diamond; and the Incomparable, which at 407.48 carats is the third largest cut diamond in existence.

Explaining the closure, Dr. Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, said:

"Since we began planning this exhibition, we have followed police advice to the letter in terms of ensuring the security of our staff, our visitors, and the exhibition specimens. That advice changed on the afternoon of Tuesday 22 November. It indicated a heightened criminal risk to the exhibition."

He continued, "The Museum's priority is the safety and security of our visitors and staff. Based on Police advice, the only responsible course of action in this situation was to close the exhibition."

Also on display was Scott Henshall's Spiderman dress, made almost entirely of diamonds, worn by singer Samantha Mumba at the premiere of Spiderman II. The tiara worn by Catherine Zeta Jones on her wedding day was also on display in the exhibition that had attracted 70,000 visitors since it opened in July.

This was the second time that the Millennium Star had been the target of a robbery. In 2000 police foiled a plan to steal the stone from the Millennium Dome. After receiving detailed information, 100 officers lay in wait as a gang attempted to use a mechanical digger to steal the stone along with eleven rare blue diamonds, valued at Ł350 million. The robbers only managed to damage the glass display case, however, the police, aware of the intended heist, had swapped the jewels for worthless copies.

FYI:

The Guinness Book of Records says the world's biggest jewelry robbery took place in August 1994, when three thieves burst into the most famous Carlton Hotel in Cannes. Firing machine guns, they robbed the Carlton's jewelry store just as it was being closed. They made off with Ł30m in jewels. It was later discovered that the rounds they had been firing were in fact blanks. If the Millennium Dome diamond robbery had been a success and the Millennium Star taken, it would have dwarfed this theft.

Although priceless, the crown jewels at the Tower of London have only once attracted the efforts of thieves. In 1671, one Colonel Blood gained entry to the Tower, dressed in the robes of a priest. Along with two accomplices, he overpowered the guards and exited with the crown, orb and sceptre. The plan fell apart with the getaway. The Colonel only made it to the East Gate of the Tower. Fortunately for him, in days not renowned for the lenient treatment of criminals, Blood was pardoned by Charles II.

Some source material reprinted with permission from IDEX Magazine (http://www.idexonline.com/).