THE HEIST NO ONE NOTICED

IT was the Geelong jewellery theft pulled off in broad daylight the Ocean’s 11 crew would have admired for its audacity and execution.

About 3.30pm on January 7, 2009, management at Thomas Jewellers in Geelong CBD made a shocking discovery: $100,000 worth of rings were missing.

How the robbery happened was initially the biggest mystery. It had not happened overnight. The inventory was there in the morning and had been sighted as late as 1.20pm.

There was no dramatic smash and grab. No violence marked what had been an ordinary Wednesday at the Moorabool St business. The theft had taken place without staff noticing anything amiss.

A review of security tapes helped police pinpoint the likely suspects.

About 1.15pm, vision showed four people — three men and a woman — entering the store separately but within seconds of each other. The men were each carrying black satchels, while the woman wore a black backpack.

No footage of the theft exists because the store was in the process of installing cameras inside the business, but the likeliest scenario involved two suspects distracting staff while the third kept watch and the fourth stole a tray of 60 rings from an unlocked safe.

The group then left the store about 1.30pm before blending in with the rest of the city’s foot traffic. Their haul included a three-carat diamond solitaire, two twocarat diamond rings and 12 one-carat diamond solitaires. The most expensive ring was valued at $20,000.

The theft was executed with a high level of precision and planning, at a time of day when one mistake would have meant almost certain arrest.

The robbery was big news. The following day’s Addy carried the front page headline: Help Us Solve Diamond Heist.

Stills were included in the coverage, highlighting the four people police believed responsible. But despite public appeals, the thieves were never identified and the robbery remains unsolved.

Thomas Jewellers announced the store’s closure in 2017 after almost 40 years.