Theft of the Titanic Emerald

A valuable emerald is excavated from the Titanic but is then stolen by a cunning thief who seeks to elevate its general storytelling value!

One more post-retirement vignette about a favorite subject of mine, heists! Thanks so much for reading,



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Hank was a stowaway on the ill-fated giant passenger cruise boat the Titanic. Before the doomed Titanic sank into the ocean because of an unpredicted collision into a giant floating iceberg, Hank caught wind of the secret fact that one of the aristocratic families on the cruise journey brought with them an immaculate emerald, fitted onto a diamond necklace, estimated to be worth over $10 million. Hank decided to write a small letter-note, describing the extremely valuable emerald and squeezed the paper note into a wall hole of the library on the Titanic.

Generations later, after the Titanic had sunk and was being actively excavated by archaeologists, the drowned Hank's paper-note was discovered describing the valuable emerald on board during the famed journey. The archaeologists decided to scour the remains of the giant interior of the Titanic suspecting the emerald was stored in a hidden safe. Well, the eager seekers found the safe and the emerald and forwarded it to jewelry historians. Now, the aristocrat emerald was estimated to be worth over $40 million because of the historic fame linked to the unprecedented Titanic tragedy.

The emerald was kept in a laser-protected showcase area in a New York museum and crowds flocked to gaze upon the immaculate gem. The $40 million emerald was considered to be one of the greatest discoveries made by the Titanic underwater excavators. The news reporters called it the real modern Jewel of the Nile. However, at the height of such revelry, the Titanic emerald was stolen. Authorities and historians were in a frenzy determining exactly what had transpired. Finally, one month later, a confession tape was delivered by the skillful jewel thief, describing the rationalism behind the historic heist.

THIEF: "I worked in that museum for two years after graduating from college. I decided to quit two weeks before the Titanic emerald was transported to the museum. I made a counterfeit copy of my employee door-lock entrance laser-card with the help of my computer wizard college friend. I then had this same computer buddy scramble the laser security system protecting the Titanic emerald using a shrewd signal wrapper! I broke into the museum and used a fine powder to steal the Titanic emerald without leaving any prints. I'll return the emerald for $50 million, just $10 million over its current estimated value! The whole purpose of this score was to deliver the message that a heist can boost a gem's social intrigue value, which makes me an ironic public servant. I'll send instructions about the ransom. Cheers,"

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"Money is everything" (Ecclesiastes)

Reviews

[wordman]

i guess nothing is safe,they rob the dead

[Kari Rakitan]

Interesting! How did the paper get so well-preserved underwater. Was it in some sort of airtight container? What kind of ink was used?

I like the motivation the thief used this time. Proving an academic point is true dedication!