Edinburgh Police are searching for a hapless thief who broke into a New Town jewellers on Friday morning making off with a haul of fake gems worth nothing.
The raider got into Austen and Blake in Hanover Street via the roof at around 5.30am before grabbing a haul of diamond rings from the display cabinets.
But little did the Scottish capital's would-be 'Pink Panther' know that the rings were actually worthless, with an estimated cost of about £3 each reports the Express.
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Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News, sales consultant Hanna revealed the shock when she and her colleague arrived to find the shop in disarray on Friday morning.
"Nothing else was touched thank god, it was just the one corner he could reach. We got a roofer in to try to stop him coming back but we’re hoping he sees what he took and realises they aren’t real.”
The jeweller, which only opened in Edinburgh in January, doesn't keep any real diamonds in store.
Its business model works on showcasing samples in store and customers then design their diamond rings online which are made to order.
The sales consultant estimated the value of the fake diamonds to be just £3 each meaning that the thief got away with around £100 worth of samples.
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She said: “To them it would have looked like a jackpot but really it’s not, I’m guessing they didn’t really know how our business works.”
Police forensic teams were on the scene throughout the day on Friday, with the force saying that enquiries are ongoing.
"To be honest it just looked like the guy saw the word jeweller and thought ‘let’s go’,” Hanna continued.
“He found a way in and went for it, maybe he planned it, I don’t know, but the reason we can leave our stuff in the window is because it is fake.
"It’s unfortunate but what can you do?”
