History's Most Iconic Diamond Heists

The intoxicating allure of natural diamonds

There’s nothing quite as covetable as natural diamonds. Over the centuries, they’ve taken center stage at royal ceremonies, movie premieres and fashion shows. Long synonymous with wealth, fame and legend, they’ve become irresistible targets, however, inspiring daring plots to steal them in both fact and fiction. Following the recent robbery at the Louvre in Paris, we explore some of history’s most iconic diamond heists.

Daring real-life diamond heists

Throughout history, many of the world’s smartest thieves have devised intricate plans to get their hands on such glittering prizes…

The most famous heist plot that never was

The Millennium Dome plot has it all: London gangsters, disguised police officers, a foiled plot and, of course, one of the most desirable diamonds of all times.

It’s the year 2000, and the entire world ushers in the new millennium. A group of London criminals set their eyes on the Millennium Star, a 203-carat gem renowned for being the largest flawless, pear-shaped diamond in the world, put on display by De Beers at the Millenium Dome.

The plan? Ramming the exhibition venue with a supercharged digger, deploying smoke bombs, snapping diamonds worth £350 million, and a speedboat getaway on the Thames.

The thieves were foiled by police posing as cleaning staff after a tip-off.

Netflix’s The Diamond Heist, a series directed by Guy Ritchie, recounts the story – as told by the thieves themselves.

The foiling of the Millennium Dome plot didn’t stop others trying their luck in London in the years to come, though. The Hatton Garden robbery in 2015 was orchestrated by a group of elderly gangsters, many in their 60s and 70s, who drilled through the diamond vault walls at a safe deposit facility in the city’s diamond district. They were successful in stealing diamonds and jewelry worth close to $19 million.

The Millennium Star diamond with black background — The Millennium Star diamond

The ‘Heist of the Century’: a $100 million scheme with an ironic end

Often cited as the most lucrative in history, the Antwerp diamond heist is the real-life version of Ocean’s Eleven.

Years in the making, the daring plan consisted of breaking 10 layers of security and cracking 109 safe deposit boxes. It’s a plan that was finally pulled off in 2003, with a prize of more than US$100 million of diamonds, gold, silver and other fine jewelry from Antwerp Diamond Center.

The mastermind behind it? Leonardo Notarbartolo, who posed as an Italian diamond merchant for an astounding four years to learn the details of the building’s intricate security system. Notarbartolo was eventually brought down when his DNA was detected on a sandwich left at the scene. A peculiar end to the largest heist in history.

And the diamonds? Some of them are still at large today…

A series of curious events: the Pink Panthers

A diamond ring hidden in a jar of face cream is a ludicrous plot, worthy of the movie it came from: the 1975 comedy movie The Return of the Pink Panther¹. But in 2003, the Pink Panthers, an international gang of thieves so named by Interpol, did just that.

More outrageous thefts followed. The 2007 heist from the Graff jewelry store in Dubai, where the gang drove a pair of Audis through a window to snatch more than $3.4 million worth of pieces, lasted just 170 seconds². The 2018 Harry Winston robbery in Paris saw four gang members, three of them dressed as women in silk scarves, wigs and high heels, break in to steal items worth more than US$100 million³.

During the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, a man walked into the lobby of the hotel wearing a bandana and a baseball cap. Armed with a handgun, he was able to walk out with jewels worth around US$150 million⁴, which had been loaned for an exhibition by billionaire Lev Leviev.

“Interpol believes that the Pink Panthers are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of thefts since the late ’90s. The number just keeps moving up,” says Scott Andrew Selby, author of Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History⁵.

“Interpol believes that the Pink Panthers are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of thefts”
Scott Andrew Selby, author of Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History

Royal twists and turns: the mystery of the French Blue’s disappearance

When we think of Versailles, we think of court intrigue, lavish fashion, Marie Antoinette’s jewels and, of course, the Sun King. It’s only fitting then that it would be the opening scene for the theft of the most revered blue diamond of all times.

Louis XIV acquired the Tavernier Blue in 1668⁶ – an incredible blue diamond weighing 112 carats and described as being of perfect clarity. It was recut five years later into the famous 68-carat French Blue, and became a central piece of the French Crown Jewels. The Sun King wore it throughout his life and later, his successor, Louis XV, had it reset in 1749 into ceremonial jewellery.

Cue the French Revolution – another king, Louis XVI – and a week-long looting of the crown jewels in 1792, where the French Blue disappears, never to be found again… or so we thought.

Twenty years later, another famous blue diamond appears in London: the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond. Decades of owners pass by, from King George IV of the United Kingdom to Pierre Cartier and flamboyant American socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean, until it is acquired by Harry Winston in 1949, presented at exhibits for 10 years, and finally donated to the Smithsonian Institute, where it remains one of the most visited objects in the entire collection.

It’s in 2007 that this story sees a final twist: a lead cast of the Tavernier Blue discovered in Paris leads many to believe the Sun King’s blue diamond, lost to history, and the New York’s sensation, the Hope Diamond⁷, are the same stone. Recut in an attempt to disguise the theft, the Hope Diamond is testament to the enduring appeal of natural diamonds throughout history, and their unique ability to draw emotions and desire across centuries and continents.

The most thrilling on-screen diamond heists

With the spectacular, often unbelievable, stories of real-life robberies, it can often hard to distinguish between reality and the thrilling heist fiction that has graced our screens over the years. Either way, we know diamonds are some of the world’s most desirable gems, and this roundup of the most iconic heist movies go some way to proving why:

To Catch a Thief, Alfred Hitchcock (1955)

Starring screen icons Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, this romantic thriller set in the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, centers around a retired jewel thief, John ‘The Cat’ Robie (Grant), attempting to catch a copycat bandit to clear his name. Vibrant colors, a picturesque French riviera, and undeniable cast chemistry: it’s a classic.

To Catch a Thief by Alfred Hitchcock 1955 movie still — To Catch a Thief directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1955)

The Pink Panther movie series, Blake Edwards (1963–1993)

This comedy-crime film series The Pink Panther, named after the fictional largest diamond in the world given to Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale), starred the inept and bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers). In this first instalment, Clouseau travels to Rome to try and stop mysterious figure ‘The Phantom’ (David Niven) from stealing the Pink Panther. What ensues is a series of ridiculous attempts that have since inspired real-life thieves and seen them mimicking plot points.

Diamonds are Forever, Guy Hamilton (1971)

In this James Bond movie featuring Sean Connery, spy-movie icon 007 is given the mission to intercept a sprawling gang diamond thieves and smugglers, who are being led by his bald, cat-stroking nemesis, Blofeld. Blofeld wants the diamonds to construct a space-based laser weapon, no less.

Snatch by Guy Ritchie movie still diamond heist 2000 — Snatch directed by Guy Ritchie (2000)

Snatch, Guy Ritchie (2000)

This British crime comedy focuses on a group of incompetent amateur robbers planning the theft of an 86-carat diamond, known as ‘the stone’, from Belgium’s diamond district. With a star-studded ensemble cast (Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Benicio del Toro, Vinnie Jones, Dennis Farina), snappy dialogue, fast-paced action and dark humor, Snatch is a cult film.

Lupin, George Kay (2021)

The most famous diamond thief in fiction is Arsène Lupin, of course. Inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s novels of the early 1900s, the character was brought to our screens in the Netflix series of the same name. Actor Omar Sy plays Assane Diop, a gentleman thief who hatches a plot to steal a diamond necklace once owned by doomed French queen Marie-Antoinette.

Why diamonds have unleashed passions for centuries

Diamonds aren’t just stolen for their value; they’re taken for what they represent. They’re a magical, ancient product of our planet, historical and political objects of huge significance, and they’re symbols of love, fame and fabulous wealth. Unlike cash or cars, diamonds hold serious emotional resonance.

The more revered and mysterious something is, the more irresistible it becomes. And for the thief, pulling off a diamond heist is a high-stakes game of prestige, part obsession, part challenge, with the tantalizing promise of stealing an infamous (and often unforgettable) place in history.