Articles and News
Industry News: Armed Female Thief On the Lam; MJSA Awards Scholarships; More September 16, 2015 (0 comments)
Armed Female Robber Makes Off With Over $1m In Jewels
Bluffton, SC—A manhunt—or, rather, womanhunt—is on for an armed white female who robbed four jewelry stores and made off with $1.3 million worth of merchandise.
The woman, pictured in a sketch at left, is believed to be the same suspect in four armed robberies in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, according to news reports and a bulletin from the Jewelers Security Alliance. JSA says she forced employees to lie facedown, zip-tied their hands behind their backs, took the showcase keys, and lifted numerous pieces of merchandise into a large handbag.
John Kennedy, in an article in JCK, described the suspect as being attractive and well dressed in designer clothes, i.e., “someone you’d want as a customer.” The suspect is in her 20s, 5’7” or 5’8”, about 130 pounds, with brown hair. In one incident she wore a large hat, in others, a skirt and/or sleeveless tops. Although she came into the store on her own, Kennedy and other law enforcement officials believe she probably is working with an accomplice who didn’t enter the store. He told National Jeweler that it’s very rare for a jewelry-store heist to be pulled off by a lone individual—usually there are two or more suspects in the store. But this is the first time Kennedy has ever heard of a lone woman being the robber.
The suspect is described as attractive and well-dressed; "a customer you would want to have."
So far, she—if it is the same woman—only has hit chain jewelry stores: Reeds, Jared, and Zales, Kennedy told The Centurion. “It is only absolutely confirmed that she came in to one. It is believed that she cased them all,” he said. She also only hit stores in which the sales associates on the floor were female, he said.
JSA is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. “She is someone who is extremely bold, and people that bold get me nervous,” Kennedy told JCK. The award is the highest offered by JSA in recent times, Kennedy told The Centurion. Many years ago, there rewards offered by JSA to solve homicides; those would probably be equal or greater to the $10,000 in today’s dollars.
Anyone with information is asked to please call JSA’s Reward Hotline, 800-325-1883. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can still receive a reward.
The case has made national news on both Good Morning America and CNN.
MJSA Education Foundation Awards Over $10,000 in Scholarships
Attleboro, MA—The MJSA Education Foundation has awarded over $10,000 in scholarships to four students whose studies range from basic bench techniques to alternative methods of fabricating and decorating metal.
Emily Culver, below left, a graduate student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI, received a $4,000 scholarship toward a Master of Arts degree in metalsmithing/jewelry. A 2013 BFA graduate of the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, she has already been represented in several exhibitions (including a 2014 solo exhibition at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania). Her work employs both traditional and digital fabrication processes, and often features an innovative combination of materials.
Maresha Robinson, above right, a student in the Graduate Jeweler diploma program of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), received a $2,650 scholarship toward her studies. After graduating from Stanford University in 2004 with a degree in languages, she has pursued a passion for jewelry making and has concentrated on honing her bench skills.
Adriana De Castro, a senior at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, was awarded a $2,500 scholarship. She specializes in metal fabrication, especially the use of alternative techniques like knitting, crocheting, and weaving. She is scheduled to graduate in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in jewelry/metalsmithing.
Melissa Cousins, a senior at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, received a $1,000 scholarship for conducting research into experimental enameling, particularly the use of modern tools in such traditional processes as plique-a-jour and basse tail.
Work from Adriana De Castro, left, and Melissa Cousins, right
Any student enrolled in a jewelry program, whether through a university or trade school, who intends to pursue a career in the jewelry industry and who can demonstrate financial need, is eligible to apply for a scholarship. Applicants are assessed on the basis of course of study, academics, career plans, recommendations, and industry experience.
Students must be U.S. citizens. Click here to learn more.
Israel Diamond Week in New York Set For October 19-22
Ramat Gan, Israel—The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) is partnering with the Diamond Dealers Club of New York (DDC) for the fourth Israel Diamond Week in New York, set for October 19-22 on the trading floor of the Diamond Dealers Club, 580 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
IDE President Shmuel Schnitzer said that following the positive business results of the recently held International Diamond Week in Israel, he has high expectations of the event in October. "About a 100 of our bourse members will take part in this event, working with our American colleagues and putting the right goods into their hands for the upcoming holiday sales season in the United States. We have what the American market likes to buy."
DDC president Reuven Kaufman said, "Expectations are that the retail jewelers will see increased business in the upcoming holiday season. We need to be prepared to provide the merchandise, and I am sure that our strength will be in the numbers."
Schnitzer cited a recent survey conducted among middle class women in the United States: when asked what prestigious gift they would like to receive the most, the leading response was “diamonds.”