GIA Helps in Recovery of Stolen Diamonds Worth Nearly $475K

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) identified two diamonds, each over 4 carats, that had been stolen from a home in Colorado.

The stones were taken together with four other pieces of jewelry in June 2023, the GIA said Monday. The combined total of all six pieces is over $475,000.

A wholesale diamond dealer, who was uninvolved in the crime, sent the diamonds to the GIA for grading. When the GIA matched the stones to their reports, it found they had been reported stolen, and alerted detectives from the Boulder County Sherriff’s Office (BCSO), who were then able to use that information to make an arrest in the case, the institute explained.

“GIA often receives requests from law enforcement to help them recover GIA-graded diamonds that are reported lost or stolen,” said Christina Yates, associate general counsel responsible for this aspect of GIA’s work with law enforcement.

The GIA has trained agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Customs Service and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in multiple countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Dubai, Israel and Hong Kong.