With the holidays upon us, it’s no surprise that Fresno, Calif. Warner Company
Jewelers president Don Wolfe has the giving spirit. Wolfe donated $10,000 to
the Fresno Police Department as a thank you for how law enforcement responded
to a shoplifting at the jewelry store.
 
On Nov. 1, a woman asked a Warner Company sales associate to look at a loose
diamond worth $20,000. After a few moments of discussion, Wolfe says the woman
grabbed the diamond and ran.
 
Wolfe tells JCK that an off-duty
police officer noticed a woman running to a getaway car on Nov. 1. The police
officer pursued the suspect in a chase that ended in a violent car crash.
 
“Ultimately, the diamond was recovered and I felt so appreciative of how our
local police department responded,” Wolfe says.  
 
Warner Company Jewelers held a 10-day auction for the “lucky diamond” on eBay.
 The 2.02 carat HVSI diamond sold for $10,200.
 
The winning bidder was a jeweler in New Jersey. Wolfe says the winner is
considering setting the diamond into a necklace and auctioning it off to
benefit his local police department or the 9/11 first responders.
 
“It would be a tremendous continuation of the pay-it-forward cause on the East
coast,” Wolfe says.
 
Wolfe says the store has not dealt with a heist of this kind in the past. “Our
local police and fire departments are stretched thin these days. We felt like
they needed the funds,” he says. “They’ll use it to buy equipment that they aren’t
able to afford with their budget.”

JCK