When Jewelry Becomes a Swallowable Asset

Every so often, the jewelry world reminds us that it exists at the intersection of art, desire, and very questionable decision-making.

Last week, that reminder came courtesy of Auckland, New Zealand, where a man allegedly attempted to steal a special-edition Fabergé pendant by swallowing it whole inside a jewelry store.

Not hiding it.
Not running.
Not even pretending to browse.

Straight to ingestion.

According to reports, the piece in question was the Fabergé x 007 Octopussy Egg Surprise locket. An 18-karat yellow gold pendant, finished with green guilloché enamel, set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires. Inside, a golden octopus with black diamond eyes. Retail price? Around $16,500 to $19,400, depending on whose exchange rate you trust.

The man was arrested within minutes. The pendant’s current location remains, shall we say, unconfirmed.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is.

Earlier this year, a man in Florida allegedly swallowed nearly $800,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings during a traffic stop. Those were later recovered. With medical assistance. And patience.

This is now a genre. 

The “grab-and-gulp” theft.

It raises a few questions. Chief among them: at what point does jewelry cross from luxury object to digestive liability?

Because while gems are famously compact, they are not designed to be portable in this particular way.

What makes the Auckland incident especially surreal is the choice of piece. Fabergé is theatrical by nature. Eggs that open. Hidden surprises. Narrative design. This pendant already had drama built in. No additional performance required.

And yet…

There’s something oddly telling about these stories surfacing now. Jewelry remains one of the few luxury categories that is simultaneously wearable, recognizable, and liquid enough to inspire this level of desperation. People don’t swallow handbags. Or watches. Or art.

But gems? Small, brilliant, emotionally charged? Apparently worth the risk.

We don’t recommend it.

At Prima, we’ll continue appreciating jewelry the old-fashioned way. On trays. In showcases. Under proper lighting. Ideally outside the human digestive system. You can try it at Tucson this year… Booth 822. 

Still, if nothing else, these incidents are a reminder of one undeniable truth in this industry.

Jewelry isn’t just valuable.
It’s irresistible.

Even when it really, truly shouldn’t be.