The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-22
STOLEN TIFFANY DIAMONDS.
SS5,OOO SAID TO HAVE BEEN
THEIR COST PRICE.

Were Three Pendants for Throat Orna.
ment. Perfectly Matched ana Of the
Finest Waterfront Easy for the Thief
to DISPOSE Of Such Valuable PIunder.
Beyond admitting the fact. members Of
! Tiffany 4 Co. refused yesterday to say
anything about the diamond robbery
which occurred in their Workshop in the
building on Union Square about two weeks
ago. Most Of them refused to be seen at
ALL and the rest said that they were in
honor bound not to talk. What can be
stated with authority il that no part Of the
great Excelsior diamond was stolen, end
that all the parts Of that stone are still In
the possession Of the Tihfanys; also that
the loss is less than S5oooo.
The cost of the diamonds to Tiffany 4 Co.
| it is said, was about SIS ,oOO. which, II -
per cent. he added for dealers profit. would
make a little under $50, 600.
While some smaller stones may have
been taken the main loss consisted in three
large pear shaped diamonds which were
bought especially for an expensive throat
| ornament MT a necklace, but something
| of the laca-fa steiner family. These three
diamonds were to have been the pen-
dants. They were of the purest water
and matched.
On the day when the robbery must have
| occurred the jeweer in charge of the neck
lace had taken these three stones out OF the
safe TO match them with the pattern. As
has been told before, all ma terial used in
the workshop is turned in at night through
the window Of 4 grille which surrounds safe.
All the material is then checked OF and put
into the safe for the night. Something
must have gone wrong with the Tiffany
system that night. for next morning. whom
the Italian workman in charge of the setting
called for these particular diamonds, they
were not to he found.
They say in the workroom that no OUT
slider could possibly have taken the dia-
monds. 1t is up to the fifty jewelers., clerks
and apprentices employed there. The COM
pany employs only one diamond cutter,
and so far as known he had nothing to do
with these gems. Whoever has got the
stones will have a hard time disposing Of
them. Diamonds of that size are all known
and cataogued. The great iewelry oenters
Of the world have been informed. and to
offer one of them for sale would be to take
great risk of arrest They might be
cut up, thus greatly reducing their value.
but the number of diamond cutters in the
world is limited, and approaching one of
them with proposal to do such job
would be almost a. dangerous "a Offering
the diamonds for sale in the open market.
1t Is understood that the Pinkertons arc
on the case. although they, like the Tif-
anys. are saying nothing. The private
life and associations OF every man who
was in the workshop that day have been
carefully inquired into, and special inves-
tigation has been made of three OF four
persons most likely to know something
about the matter. just now the detec-
tives are working on the theory Of a con-
spiracy.
1t has been many years since 80 big .
robbery has occurred in the trade. Most
of the victims of jewel thefts in late years
have been private owners. Improved
manganese steel safes the custom OF record
ing big diamonds, better methods of check
ing and bookkeeping have all tended to
eliminate danger. In the Old World the
mail and express lines are as carefully
guarded as safe deposit vaults. The en-
tire product of the Kimberley mines amount
ing TO S25 900, 900 a year, is sent to the Lon
don market by ordinary registered mail,
Even for private owners. safe deposit
vaults have made diamonds far less pre-
carous asset than fifty years ago. The
level trade is Interested n this aspect OF
the theft and is wondering just where the
thief found the taw in the Tiffany system.
The workmen about the shop have a wild
theory that the thief stole the three diamonds
not so much for their money value as to get
even with Tiffanys for some grievance.
Every jeweler would have known, they say
that stones so large and valuable could not DO
disposed of without the greatest risk. 1t
would have been easy to get away with
bunch Of smaller diamonds, which could
have been marketed with little risk. They
think that the thief intends either to hold
out the diamonds or perhaps destroy
ihem. with the idea Of iniuring the COMPANY.