$1 million in jewelry stolen in Phoenix 'smash and grab' robbery

PHOENIX - Police say about $1 million in jewelry was stolen from the Bedazzled Gallery in Phoenix sometime early Monday morning.

Phoenix police reported that five people wearing gloves and masks broke into the store in what they are calling a “smash and grab” burglary at the gallery's Biltmore Fashion Park location near 24th Street and Camelback Road.

The burglary lasted just two minutes and was caught on surveillance cameras.

Store owner Steve Arkawi admits he has a hard time watching the video.

"It broke my heart. I almost had a heart attack. It's horrible. It's horrible," said an emotional Arkawi. "It looks like somebody knew exactly what we had. They grabbed the most expensive jewelry we had. They took a lot of diamonds, a lot of gold, and a lot of nice jewelry."

Despite the price tags, Arkawi said the jewelry was not insured. He said insurance companies do not insure jewelry left in display cases so he skipped the coverage.

"It's too expensive and plus you have to put all the jewelry in a safe to be covered. We have a lot of pieces. It takes half a day just to put the jewelry in and out. It's too much," Arkawi said.

Despite the setback, Arkawi said his store remains open. Jewelry toward the back of the store was left untouched and so were pieces of art throughout his store.

If you have any information regarding this incident contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.