By Nick Clark in Cannes and John Lichfield
Cannes - Robbers made off with a haul of jewels worth €300 000 (about R3,6 million) on Friday during a raid on a Cannes hotel, hours after the screening of a film about a gang who stole luxury goods and cash from the rich and famous.
The jewels were taken at around 5am from a room in the Hotel Novotel on the Boulevard Carnot, close to the seafront and the Palais des Festivals, where screenings for the 66th Cannes Film Festival take place.
The pieces were stolen from the hotel room of an employee of the luxury Swiss jeweller Chopard, which also makes the Palme d'Or and other trophies for the festival.
A safe containing the jewels was cut free by an intruder and carried off, according to a spokesman for the Police Judiciare in Nice. Officers are sifting through security camera footage from around the hotel for clues.
Commander Bernard Mascarelli said: “Apparently this [hotel guest] was someone who was targeted because it wasn't someone who had been seeking attention.
“There must have been either an inside complicity, or people who were in contact with this person and knew that the person had jewels.”
He added that it seemed “pretty unlikely” the theft had been the work of one person.
The company confirmed the theft in a brief statement, saying: “An employee of Chopard jewellery house has been the victim of a robbery last night in their hotel room while not on premises.” It added that the “value of the pieces stolen is far lower than those circulating in the media”. Initial reports suggested the value of the jewels was in excess of £660 000.
The company added that, despite reports to the contrary, the jewels were “not part of the collection that are worn by actresses during the Cannes Film Festival” .
The British supermodel Cara Delevingne and actresses Julianne Moore and Freida Pinto all wore Chopard jewellery at the opening of this year's film festival.
The heist took place just hours after the premiere of The Bling Ring, a true story of teenagers who broke into homes of the rich and famous in Los Angeles and made off with a haul of nearly $3m. The film, directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Emma Watson, earned praise from critics after its debut on Thursday.
Chopard has made the Palme d'Or for the festival since 1998. This year's trophy, which is worth more than €20 000, was not in the stolen safe, festival organisers said.
The company is a byword for opulence and its creations can often be seen adorning actresses' ears, necks and arms at awards ceremonies and premieres. The winner of this year's best actress Oscar, Jennifer Lawrence, wore its jewels, as did Hilary Swank, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet. When Chopard began sponsoring Cannes, it had a team of four working on the Riviera. Now it has 40 staff there ensuring that its jewellery makes its way on to the biggest names at the festival.
In an interview with the London Evening Standard on Wednesday, Caroline Scheufele, a vice-president of Chopard, said: “Cannes is such an important moment in an actress's career. They have to look their best. We just try to help a bit.”
It is not the first time that a major theft has taken place in Cannes. In 2009, robbers wearing Hawaiian shirts held up a Cartier boutique, making off on motorbikes with jewels, watches and luxury goods worth almost £13m. - The Independent