A jewelry shop on 24th Street was burglarized and cleared of its merchandise early on New Year’s Day, and now plans to close permanently, its owner says.
“It was really bad. We are super scared about it, we don’t want to open anymore,” said Edwin Ayala, 39, who opened the shop, Shine Little Diamond, two years ago after many years living and working in the Mission. “The store is destroyed, and they took away everything.”
Ayala said his shop was closed on Sunday for New Year’s Eve, but that he had planned to be open on Monday.
“When we got there in the morning, around 10, we noticed that the locks they cut, and the doors they [had] forced” open, Ayala said.
Today, chunks of wood ripped from the door could be seen on the ground near the entry to the shop. Inside, glass display cases were shattered and cleared out.
There are multiple jewelers on the 24th Street corridor, including J.J. Jewelers next door, and Diju Jewelry across the street, where Ayala worked until two years ago.
Ayala believes his shop was specifically targeted. His surveillance camera box, which stores footage, was also stolen, leaving him without video evidence. The alarm system on the door should have gone off, but it was smashed by the burglars and disabled.
Police, Ayala said, are investigating and had taken fingerprints from one of the display cases.
Ayala estimated about $50,000 worth of jewelry was stolen, but has not done an official assessment yet.
In addition, Ayala said his secondary business as a local musician is also now compromised: His three Gibson guitars, two red and one black, were also stolen, along with his orange amplifier and pedalboard. This month, Ayala was supposed to start recording a new album, but he has already canceled those plans.
One of his three personal cameras was also stolen, as well as cash and his laptop.
Damages at Shine Little Diamond. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan 
Smashed display cases at Shine Little Diamond, the day after it was burglarized. Photo by Leo Eskenazi 
Empty jewelry busts at Shine Little Diamond. Photo by Leo Eskenazi 
Edwin Ayala explains what items were stolen from his shop on 24th Street. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan 
Shine Little Diamond. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan
Ayala said that, as a small business owner, he could not afford to pay hundreds of dollars per month for insurance, so his losses are not covered. He is not sure what he will do when customers begin calling for their jewelry that he was repairing.
“It’s sad, and I’m so scared,” Ayala said. “Honestly, I don’t feel the energy to deal with that, it’s too much.”
To support Ayala’s fundraiser, click here.
They came fir my little store 3 year’s ago- stole several thousand dollars of my equipment, (computers) an organization that I belonged to’ equipent, (slide projector and screen) caused $500 of damage to my store’s door and then 6 months ago,thieves unsuccessfully tried to break in and caused another $500 of damage to my front door. Last year they stole my car’s catalytic converter and i ended uo having to pay $2,600 for the necessary repairs. I hate them. I have not a smidgen of sympathy or understanding for them. They have made my life and the lives of my neighbors miserable. I hope they all rot in hell
people who ignorantly defend these criminals by deflecting to unnamed “tech boom billionaires” and their unenumerated unspecific “crimes”, while not respecting the very real pain, suffering and loss caused to their own neighbors are the central cause of this neighborhood and city becoming trash!!
Mr. Ayala and his store are a neighborhood treasure, he fixes jewelry with an artisan’s skill at really fair prices. Hopefully he will get back in business soon. So discouraging.
This makes me so sad. I recently went to take some jewelry to be repaired and met Mr. Ayala. He is so kind and did an excellent job. I hope he is able to continue with his business and his music-making.
I have lived in Downtown San Francisco at several addresses since early 1974 and have never seen San Francisco to be such a mess. Crime;;homelessness; poop on the street and not just from dogs, either; aggressive in-your-face panhandling/begging. What the hell happened to my once-beautiful City?
“He is not sure what he will do when customers begin calling for their jewelry that he was repairing.” Well, he’ll have court judgments entered and he will have to compensate the owners. These thieves are dirtbags and I hope they are caught quickly, and I feel for this guy. But holding other people’s property but failing to maintain insurance is highly irresponsible.
Yeah if you cannot afford to be victimized by criminals, neighbors, or nonprofits, San Francisco is not the place for you to do business!
yes that’s really a compounding of the tragedy. if you can’t afford a real alarm system (he didn’t have one if bad guys could trivially disable it) abd insurance, please please do not open a jewelry business. please! not yet!
i feel really awful for this guy but also cannot imagine owning a retail store that carries expensive merchandise (i have owned such a store) and not carrying insurance. i just don’t understand that.
I had a shop right beside the Jasmine Plaza shopping center and in the 6 1/2 years I was there I was broken into twice. The first time I didn’t have insurance and thank God they didn’t get much. I purchased insurance before the crap of society came back and broke in again. They got a lot more the second time but it was all covered by my insurance. I moved my business from that area and I’m so grateful I did. Been at my new location for 8 1/2 years and I have never had a problem but I still have insurance. Location is everything and I had learn from my mistake of not carrying insurance. It doesn’t have to be the end of it all. Don’t let those pieces of crap cause you to give up. Just make the necessary changes and do what you love. I hope my past experiences will help you in some way to keep you moving forward.
Now now now. Those burglars would not be doing what they do if it were not for income inequality, diversity, inclusion and equity. When poor folks don’t share in the wealth they have every right to seek out wealth inclusion.
kill all these fucking criminals – we need tough on crime laws. it’s a fact that when we had them, crime was lower. all these losers advocate for rehab, and it’s only my people who suffer (non-white).
I feel bad for this guy, but not having insurance was a fatal mistake that unfortunately did him in. I know it’s not cheap, but you can’t run a jewelry business without it. And now some customers are out of luck, as their items were stolen too. As much as I feel for this guy, I also think he needs to take responsibility for his incompetence. Sorry 😞
Yup my ring was stolen … when I called to set up a time to pick up I was then told about the breakin – apparently no records or customers phone #’s were recorded anywhere put on the the item left to be serviced? During that initial call I was told that I would be compensated and I just needed to text over any info about my item but since then all my calls and text have gone unanswered .
What’s with the hidden haters here, giving me -2 votes when I ostensibly wrote the same thing as others have? You’re pathetic.
Martial punishment. Hanged from the weird trees in front of city call.
Martial law is often abused to usurp permanent power. Everyone knows that not a single San Franciscan wants permanent office… Except in cushy DT Sac car away from us and our myriad impossible problems.
Enactimg it is an act of lawyers and judicial review, right? The most pernicious abuse (dictatorship) has very low probability. Four years, double police presence, mandatory in patient treatment at least 5km from documented Hondo green zones. Mandatory multi year out treatnent fully paid out in the burbs
That’s it. Progressivism it’s a meaningless joke. Democrats even worse. The only Sup with any guts. The new D6 guy, was vowed within a money by the enormity of the tasks.
We know what to do. Any harm caused by these measures can be objectively meta studied to show lower harm than not talking them. LET’S GO SF
I have a smidgeon of sympathy for petty criminals. Most of them didn’t get a fair shot at life, and in the end crime isn’t going to work out well for them. But it’s infuriating to see the dreams of small business owners crushed. With every charming, one-of-a-kind shop forced to close, our dazzling city is diminished.
So sorry to hear about this!
$50,000 and the destruction of someone’s livelihood doesn’t sound “petty” to me. No sympathy from me. These criminals should go to jail and pay back every cent.
50,000 is chump change compared to what the tech boom and billionaires have done to the city. When will you call for their prosecution and imprisonment? Corny. How many thousands of lives and generations of families have been pushed out by big money? How many small businesses shuttered by greedy landlords and developers? Structural violence is ok if you’re rich or you’re a developer who can get big loans.
Those weren’t petty criminals, and to have even a smidgen of sympathy is way too much. They’ve totally screwed this guys life and livelihood. And it’s going to get worse. What’s going to happen when people want their jewelry back? This misplaced sympathy is why the Bay Area is such a mess.