The suspect allegedly walked up to the counter at Romano's Jewelers and asked to see the extravagant bracelet around 10 p.m. Thursday.
The employees said they thought he was ready to buy so they opened the glass case and showed the suspect the bracelet.
The suspect then grabbed the 18-karat white gold bracelet with eight karats of princess cut diamonds and fled the store.
"It was just a scary feeling, the guy came in here, wanted to see a piece - he was a pretty swole guy - grabbed it and just took off," said Anthony Hurtado, manager at Romano's Jewelers.
Hurtado said the bracelet was the newest and most expensive jewelry piece in the store and that the suspect knew exactly what he wanted.
"He said 'One of my friends referred me to you guys,' so what happened was that I went ahead and handed it to him, and that's when he took off with it," said Hurtado.
Employees say the suspect was careful to never touch the glass, leaving no fingerprints. He also never seemed to care that he was in a busy mall full of holiday shoppers and was surrounded by three employees. One of the three employees even chased him through the mall to the parking lot where he disappeared.
Romano's Jewelers has been located inside the Glendale Galleria for over 16 years. Employees say they have never had anything like this happen to them before.
The suspect was described as a black man, between 20 and 25 years old, standing around 5 feet 7 inches tall and approximately between 130 and 160 pounds.
He was last seen wearing a black beanie, dark shirt and black leather jacket.
Anyone with information about the theft was urged to contact the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-3127.
