Jewellery history

Famous Jewel Heists in the UK: The British Jewel Theft Register, 1671 to Today

Britain's most famous jewel heists run from Colonel Thomas Blood's raid on the Crown Jewels in 1671 to the Hatton Garden vault burglary of 2015 and the Portland Tiara theft of 2018. Our register lists 60 cases with sources: what was taken, whether it came back and whether anyone was convicted. Everything was recovered in only 4 of them.

Reviewed by Faustas Svencionis, Mozeris Fine Antiques, since 2015 · Updated October 2026

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The register: British jewel thefts since Colonel Blood

The register lists 60 jewel thefts and attempts in Britain and Ireland from 1671 to 2024, each with its date, place, what was taken, whether it was recovered and whether anyone was convicted, and a link to the source. Dublin is included for 1907, when Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.

How we built it: thefts of jewellery, gems and gold objects, and raids on jewellers, reported by court records, prosecutors, police, museums or the national and regional press. Values are left out because early estimates and insurance figures rarely agree. “Not reported” means our sources do not say. Compiled by Mozeris Fine Antiques, October 2026. Corrections with a source are welcome at info@mozerisfineantiques.com.

What the register shows: recovery, convictions and targets

Full recovery is rare. Everything came back in 4 of the 60 cases and part came back in 12. In 10 our sources say nothing was recovered, and in 32 they do not say. Someone was convicted in 39 cases.

Jewellers and dealers are the most frequent target, with 24 cases, most of them since 2000. Private homes and museums follow with 9 each, then country houses with 6: Waddesdon Manor twice, Goodwood, Sudeley, Blenheim and Arundel. Graff's London premises appear six times between 1980 and 2009, and Hatton Garden in four rows.

Convictions are more common than recoveries. Cases solved by the police often still end with the jewels missing, as at Graff in 2009, Boodles in 2016 and Welbeck in 2018.

Five cases in brief

These five cases cover the range: a raid on the royal regalia, an unsolved disappearance, a country house, a jeweller's showroom and a safe deposit vault.

1671: Colonel Blood and the Crown Jewels

In May 1671 Colonel Thomas Blood and his accomplices attacked the Keeper of the Jewel House at the Tower of London and made off with the crown and the orb, leaving the sceptre partly filed through. They were caught at the Tower and the regalia were recovered, with some stones loose or missing.

Charles II pardoned him. The diarist John Evelyn wrote that he “could never come to understand” why.

1907: the Irish Crown Jewels

The insignia of the Order of St Patrick, including the Grand Master's diamond star and badge, were kept in a safe in the Office of Arms at Dublin Castle. They were found to be missing on 6 July 1907, days before King Edward VII arrived in Dublin.

The police notice said they were taken “by means of a false key”. The case was never solved and the jewels have never been found.

2003: the Waddesdon gold boxes

At about 2am on 10 June 2003 a masked gang broke a window at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire and, within minutes, took more than 100 gold boxes and other objects from the Rothschild collection, most of them 18th-century French. In August 2021 the Art Loss Register identified one of the boxes when it was offered at a UK auction house, and it went back on display at Waddesdon in 2022.

2009: Graff, New Bond Street

On 6 August 2009 two men posing as customers took 43 rings, bracelets, necklaces and watches from Graff in New Bond Street at gunpoint. Men were convicted and jailed in 2010. None of the jewellery has been recovered.

2015: the Hatton Garden vault

Over the Easter weekend of 2015 a gang got into 88-90 Hatton Garden, drilled through the vault wall of Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd and broke into 73 boxes. The judge said the loss was “on an unprecedented scale” when he sentenced them in March 2016. Part of the haul was recovered; about two thirds of the valuables have not been found.

Why stolen jewels are broken up

A famous jewel is easy to recognise, but its loose stones and melted metal are not. That is why so many rows in the register end in “None”.

• The Portland Tiara. Made by Cartier in 1902 and stolen from the Harley Gallery in 2018. Three men were convicted, and the tiara is thought to have been broken up for its stones. Our antique tiaras guide explains how tiaras of that period were made.
• The Blenheim gold toilet. The prosecution said none of the gold was ever recovered; it is believed to have been cut up and sold.
• Brink's-Mat. Much of the gold taken at Heathrow in 1983 is thought to have been melted, recast and returned to the market.

Our Louvre guide looks at why historic stolen jewels are almost impossible to sell whole. For how signed pieces are identified, see our signed jewellery guide.

How to record your jewellery so it can be identified

Photograph each piece, close up its marks, write down the details and keep the paperwork somewhere else. A record like this helps the police, insurers and stolen property registers match a recovered piece to its owner.

• Photograph the whole pieceFront, back and side, on a plain background, with a ruler beside it for scale.
• Close up the marksHallmarks, maker's marks, serial numbers and inscriptions, sharp enough to read.
• Write a descriptionMetal, stones and how many, measurements, repairs, damage and anything unique.
• Keep the paperworkReceipts, certificates, valuations and boxes, with copies stored away from the jewellery.
• Keep it currentAdd new pieces when you buy, inherit or alter them.

What a useful photograph looks like

Sharp, front on, on a plain background, with nothing else in the frame. Then the back, the side and every mark.

For reading the marks, see our guides to gold hallmarks and stamps, silver hallmarks and hallmarks and makers' marks.

Inherited pieces deserve the same care: our inherited jewellery guide explains what to do first. If you would like a specialist description of a piece, send us photos for a free valuation.

Buying safely: provenance and stolen property registers

Ask where a piece has been, and check valuable items against a stolen property register before you buy. Due diligence works: the Waddesdon gold box came to light in 2021 because the auction house checked it with the Art Loss Register.

A reputable seller can explain a piece's marks, period and history. Our guides to how we authenticate antique jewellery and provenance set out what we check, and the Louvre guide covers stolen-art registers in more detail. Browse our jewellery collection and Victorian jewellery.

Selling family jewellery safely

Sell to an established buyer who checks where pieces come from and pays by bank transfer. Expect questions about how you came to own a piece: they protect you as well as the buyer.

Ways to sell

• Mayfair, 47 Maddox Street (by appointment)
• Braintree, Essex (by appointment)
• Royal Mail Special Delivery
• Free FedEx collection

We buy directly, with payment once you accept our offer, and we can also sell for you by consignment or at auction. Mozeris has traded since 2015 and is five-star rated: read our Google reviews.

More on selling: antique jewellery, Victorian jewellery, gold jewellery, designer jewellery and inherited gold and probate.

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