Two thieves broke into Crown Jewelry on Reisterstown Road in Baltimore County overnight and made off with roughly $200,000 worth of jewelry, leaving the family-owned business to absorb a loss that was not covered by insurance. Surveillance footage shows the pair smashing a glass door, loading watches, engagement rings, earrings and bracelets from display cases into bags, and fleeing the scene.
The break-in happened at Crown Jewelry's location in the Cherry Valley Plaza shopping center at 11612 Reisterstown Road, according to commercial property records. As first reported by WBAL News Radio, Jane Orshanskiy, whose family runs the store and who helps run it alongside her parents, said the business could not afford to insure all of its inventory. The stolen items were not insured, according to the report.
Baltimore County Government logs from Precinct 3, which covers the Reisterstown, Owings Mills and Pikesville commercial sectors, recorded a second-degree commercial burglary in the 11600 block of Reisterstown Road at approximately 3 a.m. on August 15, matching the reported time of the break-in. Police records describe two suspects breaking into a store and fleeing in a dark-colored vehicle. Police have asked anyone with information about the burglary to come forward.
A Devastating Blow to a Decade-Old Family Business
Orshanskiy called the burglary heartbreaking and devastating, per the same account, but said the community has been supportive in the aftermath. Crown Jewelry has been open for more than a decade and previously weathered a roughly seven- to eight-month closure during the pandemic, as well as a frozen-pipe flood-type situation caused by the store next door. Despite the losses, Orshanskiy said the family will rebuild and open its doors again.
The store plans to repair the physical damage from the break-in, restock its inventory, and reopen within a few weeks, the report notes. In the meantime, Crown Jewelry's online store remains operational for customers who want to keep shopping while the physical location is closed.
Neighboring Businesses Rattled, Call for More Security
The burglary has sparked safety concerns among other businesses in the area, with one local business owner saying the neighborhood needs more security. The incident echoes a pattern along the Reisterstown Road corridor: in August 2023, Radcliffe Jewelers in nearby Pikesville suffered a $700,000 smash-and-grab when suspects rammed a stolen van through the storefront glass overnight, according to CBS News Baltimore. Baltimore County Police have also taken enforcement action against organized jewelry theft schemes more recently; in April, county detectives arrested three suspects connected to a series of seven distraction thefts across the county that led to the recovery of more than 150 stolen pieces valued at over $14,000, as reported by WBAL Baltimore News.
Why Small Jewelers Often Go Without Coverage
Crown Jewelry's uninsured loss reflects a broader financial bind facing small, family-run jewelers. Specialized commercial insurance guidelines show that so-called Jewelers Block policies require strict physical security warranties, such as UL-rated safes, double-key systems and monitored alarms, and the premiums for that coverage often push small retailers to go without it, according to First Class Insurance. Standard commercial property policies typically exclude jewelry inventory without those specialized endorsements.
Retail security research from Jewelers Mutual indicates that smash-and-grab burglars generally try to clear glass doors and display cases in under three minutes to avoid police response, making burglar-resistant laminated glass and electronic showcase locks critical to slowing thieves down. Nationally, the Jewelers' Security Alliance's 2025 Annual Crime Report found that total dollar losses from crimes against U.S. jewelry businesses rose 1.5% to $144.7 million in 2025, with on-premises burglaries alone accounting for $19.9 million in losses even as total reported incidents fell 13%, according to JCK Online.
Security analysts have pointed to record precious metal prices as a driver of that trend, with gold reaching nearly $4,500 an ounce in late 2025, according to IDEX Online. Because stolen gold can be melted down and fenced quickly for up to 80% of its market value, it has become an especially attractive target for organized theft crews compared with serialized diamonds or branded watches. For now, Crown Jewelry is focused on repairs and restocking, with Orshanskiy's family determined to reopen its Reisterstown Road doors in the coming weeks.
Under Maryland law, the alleged break-in and theft carry serious potential penalties. Second-degree burglary of a commercial storehouse with intent to commit theft is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Maryland Criminal Law Code § 6-203, while theft of property valued at $100,000 or more is a separate felony carrying up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 under Maryland Criminal Law Code § 7-104, according to the Maryland General Assembly. No suspects had been identified as of the latest report.
