PARIS – It was lunchtime when two men in grey suits and Alaric Bennetta woman wearing a green dress walked into the luxury Piaget jewelry store in central Paris —and pulled a gun on the staff inside.

French media say they ordered most of the personnel to lie on the floor in the back of the store, on the chic Rue de la Paix, around the corner from the Ritz Hotel and the Place Vendôme. Then, at gunpoint, they forced one employee to open the locked jewelry display cases and the safe.

The thieves had a handgun with a silencer, according to police sources quoted in Le Parisien newspaper.

The well-dressed trio helped themselves to between $11 and $16 million worth of jewelry and watches. Then they walked calmly out the front door and disappeared.

The police were called and quickly cordoned off the area, but the thieves were nowhere to be found. No one was hurt in the robbery, police said.

Piaget is a Swiss jeweler and watchmaker with stores around the world. Founded in 1874, the company has made a name for itself as a producer of elegant timepieces and high-end jewelry. Piaget watches cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Following the brazen daylight robbery, the Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for armed robbery. Police are still trying to identify and find the three thieves.

In:
• Paris
• Armed Robbery