Paris - Three armed men broke into a renowned jewellers' in the heart of Paris and made off with gems and other merchandise worth some 80 million euros (102 million dollars), a French police spokeswoman told Deutsche Presse-Agenur on Friday.

If the valuation of the stolen merchandise is confirmed, it would make the robbery one of the largest successful jewel heists of all time.

The hold-up took place late Thursday afternoon at Harry Winston jewelers', on the posh Avenue Montaigne. The robbers, who reportedly knew the names of some of the store employees, took all the merchandise exhibited in the shop windows and display cases.

The online edition of the weekly Le Point reported that one of the lines investigators are pursuing is that the thieves may have come from the east, because stolen diamonds and other gems are difficult to dispose of, except in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Harry Winston is one of the world's most renowned jewelers. He designed the famous tiara worn by Empress Farah Diba for her wedding to Shah Mohammed Reza of Iran. The tiara's centrepiece was the 60- carat Nur-ul-Ain pink diamond.

Harry Winston also cut the famous 69.42-carat pear-shaped diamond the late actor Richard Burton bought for his wife Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday.

The firm's current clientele includes Queen Elizabeth II of England and a number of megastars such as Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson.

Almost exactly one year ago, on December 6, 2007, unknown thieves broke into the same Paris store and made off with some 10 million euros worth of jewelry.