Four armed robbers pulled off one of the world’s biggest jewelery heists at famed Paris Jeweler Harry Winston, making off with diamonds and valuables worth $108 million dollars, investigators said Friday.The robbery took place Thursday and the men stole nearly all the jewelery on display.

The heist was well-planned, a source from the investigating team told the press. The men knew the names of some of the shop’s employees and the location of some hidden storage cases for jewels.

Two of the men were disguised as women when they managed to elude the high-security surveillance system and burst into the boutique at 5:30 pm on Thursday during the busy holiday shopping season.

Brandishing weapons, they threatened some of the dozen employees and customers and herded them into a corner, while some of the personnel suffered blows, according to investigators.

Police said they were dealing with “major pros” who had meticulously planned their crime and knew the boutique’s lay-out well, suggesting it may have been an inside job.

The thieves, who apparently were French, stuffed rings, necklaces and other finery in bags and quickly left, without firing a single shot.

No leads were ruled out including the possibility that the robbers may have connections in eastern Europe, where the loot could be sold, contrary to western Europe where such high-value stolen goods would be quickly detected.

Police described the eastern European market as a “new El Ddorado for traffickers” trying to get rid of high-end stolen goods.

Police on Friday were questioning customers, employees and pedestrians to try to come up with leads.

Harry Winston, which specializes in ultra-luxury jewelery, was hit by another heist in October last year when armed robbers stole an estimated 20 million worth of valuables.

An insurance company offered a 500,000-dollar reward for information leading to the thieves’ arrest but they were never found.

The US jewelry chain has stores across the world and has sold precious stones to royal families and lent them to film stars for events such as the Cannes film festival or the Oscars in Hollywood.

Lovers of all things jewelry, we have good news. A brand new, jewelry resource center at New York’s Museum of Arts And Design (MAD) opened last week with its inaugural show, Elegant Armor: The Art of Jewelry. The exhibition explores the inspirations for contemporary jewelry, including the fine arts, the human form and the natural world. Featuring over 130 works from 1948 to the present, pieces are drawn from the museum’s collection of approximately 450 modern and contemporary selections and will be on display until March 2009.

The Tiffany & Co. Foundation Jewelry Gallery, which will house the entire collection in accessible study drawers, is a unique study center dedicated exclusively to contemporary jewelry. Located on the second floor of the new MAD building, the center also presents a rotating series of jewelry exhibitions and provides additional resources on the history of jewelry design through MAD’s online database.

Construction of MAD’s Columbus Circle location was a controversial topic for New Yorkers over the past few years, but it’s clear the City is now excited to add yet another artistic destination for both New York natives and out of town visitors. Mayor Bloomberg was at the ribbon cutting ceremony and voiced his full support.

For more information about the Jewelry Gallery and the other exhibits at the Museum, visit their official website at www.madmuseum.org.

Introducing our top of the line jewelry collection, The Paramount Collection by Images Jewelers.

The Paramount Collection is truly our top of the line jewelry collection. Featuring unique gemstones and diamonds, each piece is hand fabricated, usually in our Chicago offices, and can never be reproduced in exactly the same way again.

While we don’t expect this line to be a big seller on our website, we just can’t resist the urge to share such beautiful works of art with everyone.

A sculptor in Britain by the name of Marc Quinn is ready to show off his latest work of art to the world, a nearly $2.8 million, 110-pound solid gold statue of supermodel Kate Moss, hyped as the largest such creation built since the times of the pharaohs.

Quinn has entitled his new golden creation Siren, and the British Museum has already asked to show it.

While the venerable London museum has so far only released a close-up photo of the statue’s face, the work allegedly shows Moss in a contorted yoga pose.

“I thought the next thing to do would be to make a sculpture of the person who’s the ideal beauty of the moment,” Quinn said of his opulent creation. “But even Kate Moss doesn’t live up to the image.”

The public will be able to see the work from Oct. 4 through Jan. 25. in the the same British Museum gallery that houses the institution’s ancient Greek sculpture collection.

Part of a very turbulent history and much thievery, the British Crown Jewels represent the regalia and vestments worn by the king or queen of the United Kingdom during a coronation ceremony and other state functions. In all, the collection includes crowns, orbs, swords, scepters, and other regalia.

Under British law, the originals of the crown jewels and implements of the State cannot leave England and are displayed in the Tower of London. Many of the objects descend directly from the pre-Reformation period and hold religious and sacral connotation.

Worn by monarchs at their coronation, the Imperial State Crown was made in 1937 for King George VI. The crown is set with jewels of great antiquity and historical significance. In all, the crown possesses 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and five rubies. The Imperial Crown of India was created when King George V visited Delhi as Emperor of India. As British law prohibits the removal of a Crown Jewel from the country to prevent pawning, a new crown was made. One of the heaviest crowns in the collection, the Imperial contains more than 6,000 diamonds.

After they were stolen from Westminster Abbey, the Crown Jewels have been kept in the Tower of London since 1303. It is believed that most, if not all, of the jewels were recovered not long after being found in display window of a London jeweler. During World War II, the jewels were taken out of the Tower and stored somewhere in secret. Stories suggest they may have been kept in the basement vaults of the Sun Life Insurance company in Montreal, Canada or in the Round Tower of Windsor Castle. It is more probable that they were housed at Windsor Castle since by law the Crown is not allowed to leave the country.

The dollar value of all the gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pearls in the royal collection make it beyond comparison. Added to the fact that the crowns and other artifacts have all been worn and used by kings and queens of England makes the collection absolutely priceless.

At this years jewelry show in Las Vegas it was noted that mens jewelry is expanding to include new styles and designers offering consumers even more selections in upscale yet urban pieces.

Designs that feature stainless steel, black diamonds, titanium and tungsten have continually grown in demand among younger men and men of all ages who have more urban tastes. Images designs and sells mens wedding bands and jewelry constructed from only the highest quality materials and manufacturing techniques, while keeping our focus on the trends and up and coming styles in mens jewelry.

I came across an online news report of a 24 karat gold hearing aid that contains 220 diamonds. The company that produces the extravagant device is Widex and it could be yours for the small price of $ 50,000.00. Advertising itself as the “blingi-est” hearing aid in the world (and the most expensive), look for it at a hearing aid dealer near you.

Despite platinum’s rising price, which averaged $1,300 per ounce last year - 36 percent more than in 2006 - retail sales and manufacturing volumes of platinum jewelry in 2008 remain fairly resilient and even higher in many markets.

The oldest piece of gold jewelry ever found in the Americas has been discovered near Lake Tikicaca in Peru. The necklace was made about 4,000 years ago. It is 600 years older than any other gold jewelry found in the Western Hemisphere to date. Mark Aldenderfer discovered the necklace while excavating a site for human remains.

The necklace was actually found about seven years ago but the find was kept quiet for fear of looters raiding the site. It is believed to have belonged to the Andean people who lived around that time period. The Andeans were hunters and gatherers before settling down in the Lake Tikicaca area. This important find shows the emergence of status symbols long before the rule of kings and queens. The necklace is being held at the National Institute of Peru and might soon be displayed in a museum.

Luxury Electronic addicts need look no further than Bling My Thing’s new “Golden Age” laptop. Unveiled at CeBIT 2008, “Golden Age” is a Macbook Air clad in 12,000 Swarovski crystals. The crystals are even more reflective than usual thanks to a coating of 24k gold applied under each crystal. The translucence of the crystals allows for true uber luxury. Each “Golden Age” takes about a week to fabricate since each and every crystal is hand-applied, so only 20 of these elegant computers exist, one of which will be for sale at Selfridges, Oxford Street, on March 18th. That is if you wont break the bank on the $39,750 price tag for the mega-laptop.