Thieves armed with a blowtorch made off with thousands of dollars’ worth of jewellery after cutting through the fortified glass of a shop.

The owners of the Davidrose Jewellery Shop in St George’s, a family business specialising in custom designed bridal jewellery, were left stunned by the raid, which took place in the early hours of yesterday.

“I couldn’t believe it. It’s the first day of the holiday season, and to get that kind of a phone call feels like a violation,” said Avrel Zuill, who runs the Water Street store with her husband David.

“We’re a small business and we’re not even two years old. This has really hurt us. A lot of collections were ready for sale.”

The safety glass display was hammered and burned, scorching the wood around the windows.

Ms Zuill said they felt fortunate that the building had not caught fire.

“They didn’t physically get into the store but they could have,” she added.

The owners believe that the break-in, which targeted certain high-value pieces, had been carefully planned.

“David and I were talking about it — we feel bad for these people because they must have been desperate to spend all that time on it,” Ms Zuill said.

“They would have had to spend at least half an hour, minimum, to do that.

“Sundays are the only day that we have off. They knew what they were doing.” Other business owners in the East End stopped by throughout the day yesterday to commiserate and show their support, Ms Zuill said.

“Being that it’s St George’s, we’re a community,” she said. “It’s a setback for us but we’re not going to let it keep us back.”

A police spokesman said an investigation into the burglary was under way.

Witnesses or anyone with possible information about the theft is encouraged to contact the Bermuda Police Service on the main police telephone number, 295-0011. You can also call the independent and confidential Crime Stoppers hotline on 800-8477.