Hello guys,

Only 3 days remaining until Halloween night!

Have you selected your costume already, my dear? The curiosity hunts us, yearning for the taste of your choice... Come forth, do not cower, reveal your sinister secret, and rest assured, we shall guard it, safe from prying eyes.

Because the agonizing wait for your favourite spooktacular celebration never is fun, let us guide you through the eerie days of the final week, leading you to the long-awaited All Hallows' Eve.

And with that, we unveil a forthcoming series of almost daily blogs 🤣 for you, starting with this very first one.

Don’t worry, we will make it spooky enough as we get closer to October 31st but for now, we want everybody to feel comfortable (unfortunately everyone will have to learn how to handle the creeps sooner or later 🤡). 

For this very first blog of our series, we delved into the depths of the worldwide web, venturing so far as to infiltrate the classified annals of the FBI and CIA, to find out about unsolved mystery cases of disappeared jewellery! We almost got caught loitering, but what won't we do for our favourite audience ❤️.

Never mind, lean back, grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte 🥤 or whatever makes you go Halloween-Mood and enjoy! (And excuse our language in the paragraphs before, we tried to make it a bit spooky 😄)

The double heist at Harry’s

When the keys for the prestigious Harry Winston Boutique on Avenue Montaigne in the luxe Golden Triangle district of Paris were delivered, the thieves had already gained access. The day before, they entered the store disguised as janitors, wearing blue overalls and bucket hats, without arousing any spark of suspicion.

Every night, a security company guards the keys to protect millions worth of unique diamonds... But soon those would vanish in the light of the sunrise. 

When the employees arrived, they were handed the keys to enter, as they are not permitted to hold the keys themselves. Amongst the first individuals to enter was import-export director Anne-Marie Capdeville. As she swung open the weighty gate at the side entrance, everything appeared to be in its proper order.

Smelling the sweet scent floating in the air amongst showcases containing diamond collars and earrings coloured in every shade of the rainbow, she turned off the alarm system and headed to her office on the second floor. On her way there she didn’t notice the four armed and masked men hiding at the staircase.

As soon as she fell back into her cushioned seat, the thieves struck from behind and threatened her with handguns. “How many employees are here at the moment?”, a deep voice asked. “Only one”, she answered shivering.

The four armed men stumbled upon the security guard by chance in the bathroom, striking him down. With a police station one block away, the men executed their act professionally. Having ensured that the hostages remained silent, by tying them together, they ushered the rest of the employees inside without drawing any notice.

Upon the arrival of manager Matthieu Brichet, they escorted him to the armoured safety vault, urging him to open it. After he was guided back to his colleagues, the sound of smashing glass fulfilled Harry’s boutique. Capturing diamonds and golden watches, snatching the video surveillance tapes and spraying tear gas on the tied-up hostage the burglars quickly descended the stairs.

Merely half an hour after departing from their hideout in the morning, the masked men left the store. Parked to the back entrance, a rented minivan stood ready for their getaway... Smashing the speed limit, only security cameras captured their escape.

Even after years of investigation, this would remain the sole evidence of one of the most significant heists in history, for the thieves had carefully obscured their tracks with blue-green foam from a fire extinguisher.

Neither the men nor the 480 stolen pieces worth $36,683,281 were ever found.

At dawn four men arrived at the storefront adorned with the sign “Harry Winston”, with three of them being dressed as women. A Cartier salesman from the store across the street, along with other onlookers, initally described them as drags with physique typically being associated with thieves. Any suspicions were dispelled as all four of them were granted entry into the boutique.

A hostess greeted the foursome and guided them into one of the sitting rooms. Monitoring the movements of their customers closely following the initial incident, the men reportedly only managed to reach the staircase before brandishing firearms and even hand grenades – the very same staircase that an armoured group had concealed themselves on in 2007 before executing one of the most significant heists in history.

“Get down or I will smoke you all”, one of the women, (excuse us, *men 😂) shouted, showcasing the grenade to the staff and other customers. Several captives were marshalled to help deactivate alarms and open display cases. Throughout, they called employees by their names, even stating home addresses—a scare tactic intended to dissuade them from revealing details of the holdup to officials.

The thieves’ main target: La grosse pierre - a 31-carat diamond solitaire ring, worth 8million, delivered the day before and hidden in the main vault. An article in the local newspaper gave all the information away. 

Stealing 297 pieces of jewelry and 104 watches in only twenty minutes, the robbers got away, still being searched for until today. Despite not having had price tags at the stolen articles, the theft is revealed as the most expensive in history.

The suspected perpetrators: Les Panthers

Dear ladies and gentlemen, little ones too, 🤣

Be prepared for the next blog of our series. Secure a supply of diapers, for the horror that will await you!

Sincerely,

Your team from EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE