Jeweler loses 11 stones in 15 months

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PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 5 (UPI) -- A Florida jeweler says 11 diamonds have vanished from his store in Palm Beach over the past 15 months.

Christopher Kaufmann, owner of Le Salon, made five reports to Palm Beach police concerning either the theft or loss of the 11 diamonds at his store between September 2010 and the end of December, The Palm Beach Post reported Sunday.

The missing diamonds had an estimated total worth of $127,875.

Kaufmann downplayed the losses.

"These things happen from time to time. Mysterious disappearance happens to every jewelry store. Sometimes things get lost. It's just amazing," he said, adding that they were "insignificant losses. Our business is a $25 million-a-year business. It's insignificant."

Some industry officials said Kaufmann's losses were suspicious.

"You might find there's a wives' tale out there, maybe somebody dropped it down a garbage disposal, but it's not something that there's any substantiation to," Adam Graham, spokesman for the Dallas-based American Gem Trade Association, said. "And if it happens, it's a once in a lifetime thing."