GIA Identifies Stolen Diamonds
February 07, 24
(IDEX Online) - Two +4.0-cts diamonds were identified as stolen property after they were submitted to the GIA for grading.
They were among a haul of jewlery valued at $475,000 that was stolen from an empty home in Colorado, USA last June.
The diamonds were sent to the GIA in August, two months after the theft, by a wholesale diamond dealer in Cherry Creek, Colorado.
The gems - a 4.31 carat diamond ring and a loose 4.03 carat stone - were identified by the GIA from their serial numbers and precise visual descriptors as part of the lot of stolen jewelry. They'd been graded prior to the theft by the GIA.
Detectives from the Denver Police Department checked the wholesaler's records to identify the person who had pawned the stolen diamonds.
They went on to recover the two diamonds and arrest a suspect, Bryce Daniel Almus, aged 31.
Some of the jewelry has yet to be recovered and some of the recovered items were incomplete.
"GIA often receives requests from law enforcement to help them recover GIA-graded diamonds that are reported lost or stolen," said Christina Yates, GIA associate general counsel responsible for this aspect of GIA's work with law enforcement.
"This is an important part of our consumer protection mission."
Pic of GIA grading lab.