Jade Hurley robbed of $250k worth of jewels

The flamboyant country rock singer said thieves broke into his motorhome in Gold Coast and stole more than $250,000 worth of diamond rings and jewels this week. The entertainer said the jewellery was not insured because of the prohibitive price.

Hurley said it took him a lifetime to amass the collection, which includes six rings, two bracelets, a one carat diamond stud ear-ring and a bracelet with 'Jade' on it, with diamonds all through it encrusted in the name.

"It's my whole persona," the Aussie rocker said on Wednesday. "Johnny O'Keefe told me all those years ago if you want to be a showman and you want to be recognised, do something different,” He recollected.

"He said 'Why don't you do a Liberace thing and get into the diamond rings and jewellery?'.

"So I did that and it's taken a whole lifetime career to develop it."

The jewels were left in his motorhome, in which Hurley tours and which was parked outside his home at the Royal Palm apartments on the Gold Coast Highway at Palm Beach.

Hurley noticed the jewels were missing on Tuesday afternoon, when he went down from his penthouse to get something out of the motorhome and found his belongings cattered everywhere.

Hurley, well known for his flashy jewellery, said his first thought was for his jewel collection so he immediately called his wife Barbara upstairs and asked her if she'd taken it up the day before, but "She said she thought I'd brought it up and I thought she had."

“They took every last bit,” Hurley said. “This is probably the worst thing to have happened in my showbiz career.”

Meanwhile, Gold Coast police investigations are continuing. The detective in charge of the investigation said the case looks like a crime of opportunity, because there was no sign of forced entry.

Detective Senior Sergeant Terry Goldsworthy said: "We're unsure if the door was unlocked and I think someone's seen the van and probably wondered what was in there."

Anyone with information about the theft can contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

Hurley, who turns 66 in June, was awarded the highly prestigious ORDER OF AUSTRALIA MEDAL (OAM) for his contribution and hard work within the entertainment industry. He's currently working on a new CD and video, but unfortunately a professional camera with all the footage on it was also among things ransacked yesterday.