Normally Gavriel Soolaev does not use the door lock security feature at his jewelry store on 47th Street in the Diamond District.

"But now it is going to be on 24 hours," said Soolaev.

That is because directly across the street from Soolaev's shop, Avianne and Company Jewelers were robbed of nearly all their merchandise during a gun point heist on Sunday.

"We usually see what is going on inside. I think if I was here I would have probably seen something, but unfortunately I wasn't," added Soolaev.

According to police, three men walked into Avianne in the middle of the day Sunday posing as customers.  

After shopping around a bit, two of the men, both captured on surveillance video, pull out guns and forced employees into a back room where police say they were zip tied and duct taped. 

"In order for them to be in and out, knowing what time, knowing all of this stuff, it had to take more than months for them to know because this area is really active with detectives and stuff and police," said an employee of a nearby shop.

Luckily, no one was seriously injured during the heist, but the robbers, who didn't even bother to wear masks, walked out with the majority of the store's inventory.

The NYPD has begun dusting for prints, hoping to identify the brazen bandits.
 
"I hope they have high insurance so they can collect money," said Berc Sarafyan, a Jewelry Store Owner.

Other business owners say Avianne and Company Jewelers has been in business for over twenty years, is well respected in the industry and is the go-to jewelry spot for celebrities looking to buy some bling.

All of this makes the bold stunt all the more shocking to locals.

"They have all the security, their staff is minimum seven, eight people in the store, a family-oriented business and they are very known as well in the jewelry industry. So the fact it happened to them is very, very surprising," stressed Soolaev.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime stoppers hotline at 1 800 577 8477.