Introduction

• Doris Payne, an elderly woman with a 1952 criminal record, never intended to make a living as a global diamond thief.

  • She yearned to dance ballet.

  • But at the age of 13, after being denied the opportunity to put on a wristwatch by a white shop owner, she felt belittled and left the store, only to discover at the door that the watch was still on.

  • She returned it, but this incident made her realize that she could get away with stealing.

• An African American father as well as a Sioux mother gave birth to Doris Marie Payne on October 10, 1930, at a coal miner's camp near Slab Fork, southern West Virginia.

• She was reared in a segregated society as the youngest of six children and dropped out of high school to work at an assisted living home for the elderly. Her only genuine job was going to be this.

An accomplished thief

• In 1952, Doris Payne, a young single mother of two, decided that she could sustain herself by robbing upscale jewelry shops.

• She came up with a cunning plan, using her innate charm and sleight of hand, to divert shop employees while she tried on a broad range of pricey rings.

• The clerks ultimately lost count of what she had tried on as she moved the rings about so much while placing them on one finger, then another.

• To further create a diversion, she persisted in asking questions about the cut, the clarity, or the carat weight throughout the whole conversation.

• Payne honed her routine, presenting herself in a dignified, sophisticated way, with chic outfits, high-end accessories, hoop earrings, and flawlessly styled short hair.

• Her biggest talent was the ability to draw people in with her tales, which would let the victim unwind and take their focus away from the jewelry they were trying to sell.

A quick getaway

• Payne browsed Town & Country, looking through the jewelry ads for potential items to take.

• Then, she made the trip from Cleveland, Ohio, to a certain shop to get the item she needed.

• She just left the shop after finishing her routine, informing the salesperson that she would think about the purchase over lunch and leaving wearing the jewelry.

• The clerks almost never noticed the thefts right immediately, giving Payne plenty of time to flee, typically in a cab.

• Payne then left Ohio and went to Cleveland to sell her loot to a fence, a person who willfully acquires stolen things and resells them.

Prison time

• Payne robbed establishments all across the globe using 20 names and nine different passports.

  • In 1974, Her most well-known theft was a 10.5-carat emerald-cut diamond from Cartier in Monte Carlo, France, which was valued $500,000 (£396,000).

• She expanded her repertoire of skills to master the art of evading capture.

  • She carried off this trick three times: once from a guarded hotel room in Monte Carlo, once from a Texas hospital after pretending to be unwell, and once from an Enters shop while wearing a beautiful, affluent woman's attire.

  • Looks online for diamond rings initiates discussion with the cashier and requests to examine a number of things

  • Charm is used to make the employee forget how many objects were outside the case. leaves the shop wearing the jewelry from the Paris prison.

• The five years Payne spent behind bars in Colorado for robbing a Neiman Marcus shop in 1998 of a $57,000 (£45,000) diamond ring were the longest she had spent there.

• Despite being on parole, she left Denver. Payne, who had a history of brief prison stints, did not always succeed in evading arrest.

Elderly offender

• At the age of 83, Payne was detained in 2013.

• She persuaded employees at a Palm Springs business that she had received a $25,000 (£20,000) insurance payment and wanted to pamper herself.

• She departed with a diamond ring that cost more than $22,000 (£17,500).

• She was sentenced to spend many months in prison and was told not to enter jewelry shops after her release.

• She disobeyed the order, and in October 2015, she was taken into custody once again.

• The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne, a 2014 documentary on Payne, depicted her as a renegade who overcame social obstacles to pursue her own version of the American Dream.

Career criminal

• Few criminals are still active in their seventies, particularly after a successful 60-year career during which they rose to fame.

• As a little child, Doris Payne recalled telling her father she wanted to tour the globe and placing tiny heaps of salt and flour where she intended to go in the future.

  • Her "job" of choice undoubtedly made it possible, sending her to France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Greece.

• Payne, who made a promise to give up crime at the age of 75, came out of retirement in 2010 to steal a coat and a diamond ring in 2011.

• Undoubtedly, the fact that stealing has allowed Payne to live a luxurious lifestyle plays a role in her drive.

• Payne seems to be driven by a combination of adrenaline high from escaping with the steal and the delight of duping business proprietors.

• Payne has only acknowledged regretting the times she was apprehended.

  • She doesn't seem to be thinking about taking a retirement.

Related Crimes

• In 1883–85, Sofia Ivanovna Blyuvshtein, a renowned Russian con artist commits several thefts from hotel rooms. She is finally caught and given a jail term that includes hard labor.

• In 1991, Yip Kai Foon steals £1.1 million worth of jewelry during five violent robberies of Hong Kong goldsmiths. He is apprehended after a shootout in which he was injured in the back.

• In 1993, The Pink Panthers, a group of international jewel thieves, loot the first of many jewelry stores, taking more than £300 million in gold and diamonds in the process.