Jewel raid victims offer up to £1.5m in rewards

A bracelet or ring, which appears to be diamond encrusted with an emerald, was among the items taken, which total £10.4m

The victims of a recent £10m jewellery raid on a London mansion have offered rewards totalling £1.5m to help catch the thief and recover their stolen items.

Some of the jewellery stolen from the house on exclusive Avenue Road, near Primrose Hill, is reported to belong to Shafira Huang.

As well as a £500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thief, the house owners are offering 10% of the value of any recovered jewellery for information that leads to its retrieval - which could total as much as £1.5m, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.

A spokesperson for the family told the Metro they believed the heist on 7 December was a "pre-planned professional job".

"Everyone is OK, but only by 63 seconds a member of staff would have been in direct confrontation with the robber had they entered the room slightly earlier," the spokesperson said.

"I can categorically say that all windows in the house were closed."

Shafira Huang was pictured in an Elsa Schiaparelli outfit during Paris Fashion Week in January

The spokesperson added: "They are an absolutely lovely family. Time is a great healer but obviously it's a shock."

Among the items taken, totalling £10.4m, were distinctive pieces such as two De Beers butterfly diamond rings, pink sapphire earrings shaped like butterflies from Katherine Wang, and a gold, diamond and sapphire Van Cleef necklace.

In addition to the jewellery, £150,000 of designer handbags and £5,000 in cash were stolen in the raid.

Many of the missing items are unique in their design, and therefore easily identifiable, the Met Police said.

The Met Police believes the house was targeted between 17:00 and 17:30 GMT by a man who climbed in through a second-floor window.

The suspect is described as white, aged in his late 20s to 30s, and is said to have worn a dark hoodie, cargo pants and grey baseball cap and had kept his face covered.

Avenue Road, where the raid took place, links the Swiss Cottage and Regent's Park areas and has some of the most expensive properties in London.