Stolen Cannes jewels worth close to $136M, official says

An armed robber held up a jewelry exhibition in the French resort city of Cannes, stealing jewels worth an estimated $136 million (102 million euros). It took place a little before noon on July 28, 2013, at the Carlton Hotel. Here's a look at other major heists.

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A police official said earlier that the jewels were worth about $53 million
• The heist is the third major gem or jewelry robbery in the Cannes area this year
• Sunday's heist happened at a jewelry exhibition at the Carlton Hotel

Cannes (CNN) -- The value of jewels stolen from an exhibition in the French resort city of Cannes on Sunday is close to $136 million -- more than twice the amount stated in earlier reports -- the Nice prosecutor's office told CNN Monday.

The robbery -- the third such heist around the city since May -- happened Sunday morning at a jewelry exhibition at the Carlton Hotel, according to Philippe Vique, deputy prosecutor for organized crime in the prosecutor's office.

Earlier, a Nice police official told CNN on condition of anonymity that the jewels were worth about $53 million.

The robber, whose face was covered by a hat and a scarf, had a semiautomatic pistol and threatened to shoot the exhibitors and guests, Vique said.

Cannes hit by another jewel heist

Jewel heist in Cannes

$53 million in jewelry stolen

Security guards were present but unarmed, he said. No one was injured.

The gems were supposed to have been on display until the end of August.

The robbery follows two major jewel heists this year at events tied to the Cannes Film Festival.

During the festival in May, a necklace worth $2.6 million was stolen from a hotel party shortly after jewels worth more than $1 million were stolen from a safe in a hotel room.

Jeweler de Grisogono said the necklace was part of a collection making its debut.

The jewels stolen in May were from the Swiss firm Chopard, which was sponsoring the festival.