‘Elegant Pair’ in $500,000 Jewel Robbery

A “very beautiful� woman wearing white gloves and a white pantsuit and a “very elegant� man in a beige business suit stole jewels estimated to be worth $500,000 to $1 million from a Beverly Hills jewelry store Saturday, police said.

Lt. Frank Sarver said the “elegantly attired� couple, armed with an automatic pistol, entered Joseph Jewels at 9608 Brighton Way at 10:45 a.m. Saturday. The man asked the shop owners if they were interested in buying a diamond brooch, Sarver said.

When proprietors Zhozef and Ovsanna Adjian said they were interested, the man drew a gun from a briefcase and ordered them to open the safe. The couple then locked the shop owners and a third person, Abram Meliksetian, owner of the adjoining St. Petersburg’s Art Gallery, into a restroom at the rear of the store.

The couple removed all the jewelry from the safe and the display cases and fled. Sarver said no one was harmed, and no customers were inside the shop at the time.

Police describe the man as dark-haired and clean shaven, approximately 35 years old, 5-foot-9 to 6 feet tall and weighing 150 to 170 pounds. Police said his companion has shoulder-length blonde hair and is 27 to 30 years old, about 5-foot-5 and weighing about 110 pounds. Sarver said police have some leads under investigation.