How a Band of Surfer Dudes Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in N.Y. History

For its 150th anniversary, the Museum of Natural History is celebrating its many historic moments, from its 1869 founding, to the 1902 discovery of the first T-Rex skeleton, to the creation of the Teddy Roosevelt statue erected out front in 1940.

One milestone not on that list: the biggest jewel heist in New York history, when the Star of India, a 563-carat sapphire the size of a golf ball, was snatched from its display case, along with the rare Eagle Diamond, the DeLong Star Ruby and some 20 other precious gems from a collection donated to the museum by J.P. Morgan.

For several months beginning in October 1964, the city was transfixed by the brazen robbery that the tabloids immediately labeled the heist of the century.

The culprits were not ordinary thieves. They were sharply dressed surfer dudes on a spree that took them from their base in Miami Beach up to their lair in New York, a penthouse suite in a Manhattan hotel. They were caught within two days of the crime, but the jewels remained missing. After a wild escapade in Miami — an unorthodox excursion involving a rented convertible — many of the gems were recovered, including the Star of India, which was promptly put on solo display in the museum’s main floor rotunda — this time, with its own security guard and safe.

Source: The New York Times

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Natural history • Tyrannosaurus • Skeleton • Theodore Roosevelt • Star of India (gem) • Carat (mass) • Sapphire • Golf ball • Display case • Eagle Diamond • DeLong Star Ruby • Gemstone • J. P. Morgan • Heist of the Century • Surfing • Miami Beach, Florida • New York City • Manhattan • Escapade (song) • Miami • Tablet computer • Rotunda (architecture) •