Lucrative reward offered in Paris jewellery heist

PARIS, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) - A reward of half a million dollars (352,000 euros) is being offered for the return of jewels stolen in an armed robbery this month from a luxury jewellery shop on the high-fashion Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

The reward was announced in Le Parisien newspaper Tuesday October 22nd, along with photographs of the four stolen watches, two pairs of earrings and three rings.

The robbery took place on October 6 around 10 am when at least three people, armed and wearing hoods, entered the Harry Winston jewellery store and made the staff open cases holding jewellery and watches worth more than 10 million euros.

Paris police are investigating the robbery, the biggest jewellery heist since September 2004 when two diamonds worth 11.5 million euros were stolen at an antiques show at the Louvre, one of the biggest jewel robberies in 25 years.