BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – A high-end jewelry store in Birmingham had to pick up the pieces Saturday after getting hit by a group of would-be thieves who tried a morning robbery.
Four men armed with sledgehammers entered the store at about 10 a.m.
"Our staff reacted perfectly," said Vinco Lucido, the owner of Lucido Fine Jewelry. "They got to safety, got the customers to safety."
The men started smashing the glass display cases with the sledgehammers, trying to get to cases of Rolex watches.
The store had just opened and had five or six people shopping inside at the time.
"They came in with sledgehammers in their sleeves so they can disguise it and then go to town on the showcases," Lucido said.
Police said staff and customers stayed calm as the men hammered the showcases, but they couldn't get through.
"The cases are made for what happened here today -- they are almost indestructible," Lucido said. "However the jewelry is not, so we are going to have quite a bit of product that is going to have to go back to Rolex and get repaired."
The showcases are also going to be repaired.
Lucido Fine Jewelry is expected to reopen Tuesday.