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Does British jewellery contain stolen Brink鈥檚-Mat gold?

We look at a claim that most gold jewellery bought in the UK after 1984 will contain traces of gold from the infamous robbery.

The Brink鈥檚-Mat robbery remains to this day one of Britain鈥檚 biggest and most audacious heists. Six armed men stole diamonds, cash and three tonnes of gold bullion from a warehouse close to London鈥檚 Heathrow Airport in November 1983. It鈥檚 now the subject of a 成人快手 television drama, The Gold, which includes the claim that most gold jewellery bought in the UK from 1984 onwards will contain traces of that stolen gold. But how true is that? Tim Harford and team investigate, with the help of Zoe Lyons from Hatton Garden Metals and Rob Eastaway, author of Maths on the Back of an Envelope.

Presenter: Tim Harford,
Producers: Jo Casserly, Jon Bithrey
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill
Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown

(woman wearing a gold ring and necklace. Credit: Getty images)

Available now

9 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sat 4 Mar 2023 05:50GMT
  • Sat 4 Mar 2023 22:50GMT
  • Sun 5 Mar 2023 00:50GMT
  • Sun 5 Mar 2023 14:50GMT
  • Sun 5 Mar 2023 22:50GMT
  • Mon 6 Mar 2023 00:50GMT
  • Mon 6 Mar 2023 10:50GMT

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