Digging for Damiani

(MILAN) While Tilda Swinton walked the red carpet at the Oscars wearing a diamond-studded bracelet by Damiani, the Italian jeweler's Milan showroom was stormed by thieves. £10 million, or approximately $19.747 million, worth of jewelry was looted in under 40 minutes.

According to police, the gang of thieves dug a tunnel from an unused cellar in an adjoining building. Drilling had been heard for weeks, but was presumed to result from everyday construction. Upwards of seven reported thieves wore fake uniforms of the Guardia di Finanza and used an internal staircase to reach the first floor, thus avoiding the video cameras and alarms.

Five employees were on site when the robbery occurred. Giorgio and Silvia Damiani, two-thirds of the Damiani trio (Guido is the remainder) were in Los Angeles for the Oscars. The showroom was open for a client event. Staffers were bound with electrical cable and locked in a restroom, their mouths sealed with tape. No individuals were hurt, and police reported that witnesses didn't spot any weapons.

The stolen pieces included diamond-studded gold necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings. A spokesman for Damiani said that the total amount lost would not be known until an inventory had been completed, but that all jewelry is insured. Serendipitously, some of the company's most valuable pieces were safely ensconsed in the presidential suite of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where Damiani hosted an Oscar party.

Damiani, a third-generation, family-run company founded in 1924, has won the Diamonds International Award 18 times. Its customers have perhaps most famously included Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow.