Everybody Loves Diamonds: Amazon Prime release date of Italian heist series, cast, trailer and true story

New Amazon Prime limited series, Everybody Loves Diamonds, is an Italian language crime series based on a real heist.

The series will be released worldwide on Amazon Prime and will be available to watch with English subtitles.

Shot over six months at locations including Antwerp, Rome, Turin and Sardinia, the show brings a major true crime story to life. Think Money Heist, except that the action depicted in Everybody Loves Diamonds actually happened.

The show stars English actor Rupert Everett in the role of John Lovegrove, specially created for the series, and A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell in an unnamed role, alongside an Italian cast as the gang of thieves who carry out the huge heist.

Everybody Loves Diamonds follows a team of small-time Italian thieves, led by Leonardo Notarbartolo, who manage to deceive top-level security with a genius plan to steal millions of dollars’ worth of precious stones from the Antwerp Diamond Centre.

Who is in the cast of  Everybody Loves Diamonds? 

• Kim Rossi Stuart as Leonardo Notarbartolo
• Anna Foglietta as Anna
• Gianmarco Tognazzi as Ghigo
• Carlotta Antonelli as Sandra
• Leonardo Lidi as Alberto
• Johan Heldenbergh as Inspector Mertens
• Kim Mousa as Fagarè
• Synnøve Macody Lund as Judith DeWitt
• Issam Dakka as Khadir
• Rupert Everett as John Lovegrove
• Remo Girone as Generale
• Elia Schilton as Levi
• Jean Janssens as Nadine
• Peter Van den Begin as Simon Van De Velde
• Mathias Kahler-Polagnoli as Ludwig Furtmeier
• Dirk Vermiert as Judge Eams

Is there a trailer for Everybody Loves Diamonds? 

Yes there is, and you can watch it right here:

Is Everybody Loves Diamonds based on a true story?

Yes, the series is inspired by the 2003 Antwerp Diamond Heist which is recognised as the largest theft of diamonds in history, and one of the biggest heists of any kind in the world.

The theft was carried out by five men, one of whom, Leonardo Notarbartolo, was the mastermind of the crime. In the event, the five thieves stole $100 million worth of diamonds, gold, silver, and other jewellery.

Notarbartolo was caught and sentenced to 10 years in prison for the theft in 2005, though he refused to name his accomplices. He was released in 2009 and rearrested after breaching his parole in 2013 and made to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released again in 2017.

Three other men, Pietro Tavano, Ferdinando Finotto, and Elio D’Onório were sentenced to five years in prison. One of the robbers, who has never been identified, has never spent any time in prison for his involvement in the crime. Despite the arrests, most of the diamonds stolen in the heist were never recovered.

Although the series is based on the Antwerp Heist and features some characters named after their real life counterparts, the series is also highly dramatised and some elements have been created for the show.

When is the release date of Everybody Loves Diamonds? 

There are eight episodes in the series, and it will be released in one go on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 13 October.