GIA Helps Recover Diamonds in Colorado

Arrest made in $475,000 theft

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Feb. 5, 2024 – GIA assisted in the recovery of two diamonds, each more than four carats, that were stolen with other pieces of jewelry from a home in Colorado in June 2023. Detectives from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) recovered the stolen jewelry and made an arrest after GIA identified the two diamonds as matching those reported stolen. According to the BCSO, the six pieces of stolen jewelry had a combined value of over $475,000. 

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

In this case, the stolen diamonds ended up with an uninvolved wholesale diamond dealer who sent them to GIA for grading. According to a December 8, 2023 press release from the BCSO, GIA, positively identified the gems as having been reported stolen. That information was instrumental in the sheriff’s office making an arrest in the case. 

GIA started providing training to law enforcement in 1965, beginning with the FBI, the Customs Service and the Federal Trade Commission. Over time, the training expanded to include local, state and international police agencies. In the last 15 years, nearly 400 officers from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mongolia, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. participated in GIA-led training. 

The Institute’s work with law enforcement, as well as its expertise in gemology, was first prominently featured in a March 1964 episode of the American television program, To Tell The Truth, featuring G. Robert Crowningshield, then director of the New York office of the Gemological Institute of America.