PARIS // Lloyd's of London yesterday offered up to 1 million euros (Dh4.9m) for information leading to the recovery of jewels stolen from a Cannes hotel worth an estimated 103m euros (Dh502m).
"A reward of up to 1 million euros pro rata is offered to the first person who provides information which leads to recovery of the goods. Offer subject to certain conditions," the insurer said in a statement.
On July 28, an armed man pulled off a brazen robbery in broad daylight at the luxury Carlton Hotel on the promenade of the French Riviera resort, in one of the world's biggest jewellery thefts.
Brandishing a semi-automatic pistol, his head covered with a cloth, the robber stole jewels that were part of an exhibition by a group owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.
French authorities said he escaped with all kinds of jewellery, including rings, pendants, and diamond-encrusted earrings.
The exhibition was held in a wing of the hotel with direct access to the street and police said they had not been alerted that it was taking place.
The Lloyd's statement, which was due to be published in three newspapers in France today, is accompanied by a photograph of four of the stolen pieces.
The robbery was the biggest in France and is on a par with a jewellery theft valued at around 100m euros (Dh488m) which took place in Belgium in 2003.
Lloyd's has not given an estimate of the value of jewels stolen in the Cannes robbery.
While some of the stolen pieces, worth millions of euros, were insured, other jewels - worth between 20,000 and 40,000 euros - were not, a source close to the investigation said.
"Time is in the hands of the police and Lloyd's," a specialist in high-end jewellery said, adding that most of the stolen jewels were listed and cannot be sold on the official market or at auction. "It's like stolen masterpieces or statuettes."
Cannes has fallen prey to thieves several times recently, notably during this year's film festival, which attracts a glittering array of celebrities from the movie world.
In a predawn robbery at a hotel during the festival in May, thieves stole jewellery worth US$1.4m (Dh5.1m) due to be loaned to movie stars.
That robbery took place in the hotel room of an American employee of Swiss jeweller Chopard while she was out for the evening, police said.
In a scene straight from a Hollywood film, a strongbox containing jewels was ripped out of the wardrobe and carried off, they said.