The small seaside town of Laguna Beach, California has been the setting for a reality television show and boasts plenty of multi-million dollar homes. What it doesn't have is a lot of crime which makes the news of a big jewelry robbery in the small town quite surprising. The OC Register reports that three armed men robbed a local jewelry store and got away with more than a half-million dollars worth of jewelry. The three men showed up at the Joshi and Baca jewelry at closing time on Tuesday and held up an employee at gunpoint. Locals who passed by the store reported the crime and the police showed up and caught up with the robbers on a local road. The robbers ditched their car in a shopping plaza and ran away. Some of the jewels were recovered from the car. The police are following several leads.

Does it seem like there have been more robberies this year? The statistics from Jeweler's Security Alliance show that this year they have seen a total of $45.9 million stolen with 682 cases. Compare this to last year's total of $48.4 million with 713 cases and it looks like this year is trending to beat last year's numbers.

John Kennedy of Jeweler's Security Alliance says that while robberies are up, the total dollar losses from jewelry crime is steady to down. He says there may be a few more of what he calls the "most crude jewelry crimes, such as a grab and run or a window smashing" but that the big dollar and violent crimes are not subject to the ups and downs of the economy. According to Kennedy none of the studies indicate that the economy has a significant influence and that crime can rise in prosperous years. Because jewelry stores have stronger security measures than many other businesses they are always not targets of the suddenly desperate. One less thing to blame on the economy.

It seems sometimes that trouble follows wherever Lindsay Lohan goes. The latest is that her Hollywood Hills home has been burglarized. Lohan's mother Dina says that a safe was ripped off the wall and that bags, shoes and jewelry were also missing. Lohan was already planning a move from the home. TMZ says that Lindsay Lohan's father Michael reported the break-in. He told TMZ that he believes the break-in was an inside job because people that were working for Lindsay did not turn on the alarm. In May, police were called over another attempted break-in. Lohan's home is equipped with security cameras.

Young Hollywood can be an easy target. Paris Hilton has had her home broken into more than once. Orlando Bloom saw his Hollywood Hills home burglarized last month. Some stars choose to live in gated communities for the added protection or hire security personnel to protect themselves and their homes.

Actor Orlando Bloom has become the latest celebrity burglary victim. His Hollywood Hills home was recently broken into and the LA Times is reporting that thieves walked away with around $500,000 in jewelry, cash and artwork. Bloom is out of town but a relative discovered the break-in on Wednesday. Bloom is far from the first star to be the victim of a house robbery. Thieves absconded with around $2 million in jewelry from Paris Hilton's home last year.

There's good news and bad news in the world of Paris Hilton today. The good, she recently her Bentley pimped out in pink so she now has her own Barbie dream car (the pictures are here). The bad news is that the LA Times has reported that an estimated $2 million worth of jewelry and other belongings was stolen from her Hollywood Hills home. The thieves apparently got in through an unlocked door. She was not home at the time and the house does have security video equipment.

This isn't the first time Paris Hilton has been the victim of a robbery. On Mother's Day in 2006, thieves stole nearly $10,000 worth of Dior baubles destined for Kathy Hilton and her sex tape, her personal papers, her Sidekick and more have all wound up missing at various times.

Wasn't it just last year we heard about a Harry Winston boutique in Paris getting robbed? It's happened again and bigger this time. This time, as Bloomberg reports, armed robbers stole diamonds valued at 85 million euros ($108 million) from the Paris branch of jeweler Harry Winston. Four armed men entered the store shortly before closing time and took most of the jewels on display and forced the staff to give them diamonds from storage. No one was injured. This theft did have one quirky detail, at least two of the thieves wore wigs and women's clothing and addressed some of the store's staff by name. Investigators are chasing down all clues and trying to catch the thieves before the pieces slip into the black market and disappear.

I don't generally write about jewelry theft but when a Harry Winston boutique gets robbed you have to pay attention. Last weekend, thieves took approximately €20 million in jewels from the Harry Winston store. It is one of the largest jewel thefts ever. The masked and armed men entered the store on Saturday morning and got the employees to open the safe. They took off with a bag of gems that included a €3.2 million diamond-studded bracelet and a large diamond worth €2 million. The police believe the robbers are professionals and they hope to try and catch the thieves when they try to resell the merchandise. The thieves will have to move fast, the investigators are distributing information about the specific stolen pieces around the world.

Ah, the perils of carrying a pricey purse. Actress Kirsten Dunst's New York hotel suite was burgled this week and one of the things the theives got their paws on was a $13,000 limited edition Marc Jacobs purse. Other casualties of the heist included Dunst's iPod, wallets, cash, a couple of cameras and other high-end purses including a Balenciega. The alleged thief has already been arrested. Authorities have recovered credit cards, ID cards and the cellphone. The expensive purse is still at large.