Jewel Thieves Caught On Camera - Part 2!

Mystery Couple Makes Off With $ 21,000 Diamond.

Last week we told you about the August 29th diamond heist in Manhattan's Diamond District.

That's where a young couple approached a jeweler's booth at "Diamond Fantasies", inquiring about an e-color two karat diamond. It's a specific type of diamond that is known by those "in the business" to look very similar to cubic zirconias.

The jeweler, Evelyn Valdez, says while she was showing them the diamond, she turned very quickly to grab a loop. It was just a second, but when she took her eyes off the diamond for that one split second, she says that's when the man switched the diamond and replaced it with a cubic zirconia.

The couple then offered to leave a $100 deposit to hold the stone, so thinking nothing of it, Evelyn took their deposit, gave them a copy of the original certificate and watched them leave.

Minutes later she realized she had the wrong stone, when her boss weighed the diamond, saying, "Evelyn , how can this be? This is a three karat!" Just minutes before showing the couple the diamond, Evelyn had weighed it as a two-karat stone. After using the diamond tester, they realized the $ 21,000 diamond had been switched.

The names and phone numbers left by the couple turned out to be fake and when police tried to lift fingerprints from the glass case, they came up empty.

That's when Evelyn called Help Me Howard. She showed Howard their security video and showed him how the switch went down.

Looking at the video, Evelyn hands the alleged perpetrator the diamond...he takes it from her with his left hand. When Evelyn turns around, the diamond is in his left hand...with his right hand he takes the diamond off the holder and drops his right hand to his side. With his left hand he places the cubic zirconia in the holder. By the time Evelyn turned back, the switch had been made.

The owners of "Diamond Fantasies" asked for the public's help to find the thieves and were offering a reward for information that lead to an arrest and conviction. Late last week, after the story aired, they were paid a visit by two men, who identified themselves as jewelers and pawnshop owners in Flushing, Queens.

They told the owners of "Diamond Fantasies" that the alleged thieves who had stolen their diamond had been trying to sell the stone to various jewelers in their community.

He's obviously having trouble getting rid of it, because no reputable jeweler is interested in a stolen 21-thousand dollar diamond.

Also this past Friday, Evelyn viewed a series of mug shots with detectives from the 18th Precinct. She says she is 99% positive that one of the photos matches the description of the alleged accomplice, the woman shown in the surveillance video.

Sources close to the investigation say the mystery couple's scam is similar to that of a crew that was hitting jewelry stores last year in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Queens. One woman, allegedly working with as many as three different men. They walk into a jewelry store, posing as an engaged couple and ask to look at expensive gems.

Anyone with any information on this robbery is asked to call 1-800 Crimestoppers or 212-869-9303.