2 Most Infamous Jewel Thieves Ever

Gemstones have been the subject of enticements for all kinds of people. From princes to paupers, no one feels like a left out as soon as a diamond charms them for good. But some are fascinated more than others and hence go to great lengths to make gemstones belonging to others theirs. But they do get caught, leaving them with nothing, and the other people with stories that are told and passed on to others. The best part about these stories is that the center characters feel like they came straight out of a book, with the sole motive of providing an interesting heist story for readers to read. So let us explore two such stories of the most mischevious and infamous jewel thieves of all time, which have transcended many limits to become legends. Many wholesale gemstone bead sellers also talk and tell about the two listed below.

Doris Payne

Doris Payne is the perfect example of beauty with brains, but in rather mischevious and unlawful ways. Born in West Virginia’s Slab Fork in 1930, to a father who was a coal miner, Payne’s dreams and wishes outgrew her humble roots, and she became a repeat offender. In a criminal career that spans nearly six decades, the lady took to heists that even big groups could only dream of. And this was all made possible due to her realization that how easy it is to walk out of somewhere after robbing someone of their prized possessions (read diamond rings) with her affluent looks. Soon she started using her “Diamond charms” to make her plans succeed. She has been declared guilty multiple times and has served multiple jail terms for the same.

The trick that she uses is to walk inside any jewelry store dressed like a classy and beautiful lady. She then sweet talks the store clerk into opening up as many jewelry boxes possible, all at once. Once done, she simply slides one or two of them inside her dress and then leaves. The clerk, still puzzled, would have no idea of how many rings he has shown, and finally, wraps up the collection without counting them back.

Alan Golder

Born in 1955, Alan Golder is also known as the “Dinnertime Bandit”. Such name is a consequence of Golder’s art of stealing jewelry from mansions at a time when the owners were having dinner in that very home.  Many big wholesale gemstone bead sellers, who have known and heard of him, say that Golder gets his love for cat burglary and crimes from his father, who was also a career criminal. While others say that it was the criminal’s friend circle that introduced him to such a world at a tender age. He served a sentence of 15 years in jail that started in 1978. Soon after he was released, he took to the same profession and fled the country after being named in an arrest warrant. During his career, he stole and sold gems worth $25 million, and also worked for the infamous Genovese crime family, one of the 5 families that once dominated New York’s underworld.

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