Everybody Loves Diamonds: true story of Amazon Prime crime series - what was the Antwerp Diamond Heist?

Upcoming Italian language Amazon Prime series Everybody Loves Diamonds is a gripping look back at a true crime from the start of the century.

The series, which stars Rupert Everett and Malcolm McDowell as well as a host of acclaimed Italian actors, will land on Amazon Prime this week.

Like BBC crime series The Gold, which revisited the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, Everybody Loves Diamonds is heavily inspired by true events.

This is the true story of the Antwerp Diamond Heist, and what happened to those who planned the robbery and the loot they made away with.

What was the Antwerp Diamond Heist?

The Antwerp diamond heist was dubbed the heist of the century when it was reported in the world press. Though, as the crime took place in 2003, this may have been a little premature.

The heist was carried out by a gang of five Italians and organised by one of their number, Leonardo Notarbartolo. The gang targeted the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, and specifically the vault beneath the building which was protected by heat detectors, seismic sensors, radar, and magnetic field. 

The Diamond Centre was also protected by private security, but all of these measures were not enough to deter the thieves.

Notarbartolo rented an apartment in the Antwerp World Diamond Centre and spent months preparing for the heist. The gangsters carried out surveillance of the Centre and planted a camera above the door to the vault, whilst Notarbartolo ingratiate himself with the staff. 

The thieves checked footage from the camera above the vault to learn the security code used by the guards to gain access. The day before the heist, Notarbartolo visited the vault with guards and without their notice sprayed women's hair spray on the thermal sensors  to temporarily disable them. To evade detection the gangsters covered security cameras with plastic bags.

To get into the vault itself one of the thieves, known as The King of Keys, made a duplicate of a foot-long key which was supposed to be impossible to copy. The group also overcame heat sensors using Styrofoam boxes and sabotaged light sensors with tape.

In the early hours of the morning, Notarbartolo and another of the men, known as Speedy, disposed of the evidence of the heist in a nearby forest. Notarbartolo burned his evidence but Speedy threw his evidence into the bushes, which proved to be a fatal flaw in their plan.

The five men then made off with their loot, most of which was diamonds, as well as some gold, silver, and other jewellery, estimated to have been worth a staggering $100 million.

What happened to the Antwerp Diamond Heist thieves?

The morning after the heist the landowner of the forest found the discarded evidence and called the police, thinking it was rubbish left by a group of teens. However, as the ‘rubbish’ included envelopes from the Antwerp Diamond Centre, police launched an investigation and were led to Notarbartolo.

He was formally connected to the heist by DNA evidence from a partially eaten sandwich which was found near to the crime scene.

Notarbartolo refused to name his accomplices when he was questioned by police - he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime in 2005, though was released in 2009. In 2013, was arrested again for breach of his parole as he had made no effort to compensate those he had stolen from. He was forced to serve out the remainder of his sentence and was finally released in 2017.

Three other men, Pietro Tavano - believed to be Speedy - Ferdinando Finotto, and Elio D’Onório were sentenced to five years in prison. One man, known only by his alias The King of Keys, has never been identified by the police.

What happened to the stolen diamonds?

Despite the arrests, most of the vast majority of the diamonds stolen in the heist were never recovered. It is unknown if the thieves kept hold of the stolen goods and were able to make use of them following their prison terms.

When is Everybody Loves Diamonds on Amazon Prime?

Everybody Loves Diamonds will be released on Amazon Prime Video worldwide on Friday 13 October. There are eight episodes in the series and they will all be released at the same time. The series is available to watch with English subtitles.