A thief reportedly entered Kay Jewelers on Old Fort Parkway sometime between Aug. 3-6 — posing as a customer — asking to look at a $6,500, one-carat diamond ring.

With a slight of hand, the suspect then switched the jewelry with a much less valuable cubic zirconia, Murfreesboro police said. No video was available, police said.

"It's an expensive and unfortunate loss," police spokesman Kyle Evans said.

In 2006, jewelers reported $20.7 million worth of goods stolen from their stores, an 83 percent increase from the year before, according to the Jewelers' Security Alliance, a non-profit association that provides crime information and assistance to the jewelry industry.

Jewelers' Security Alliance's Web site said it has identified the pattern of a diamond switch artist operating in the southwestern United States.

In July, San Diego police told the jeweler's association they believe a 34-year-old white male, who is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 185 pounds, is responsible for six diamond switch cases.

Similar to what happened in Murfreesboro, the suspect enters the store, asks to see the largest set of diamonds the store offers and then leaves the premises. The suspect returns and it is during the second visit when he switches the real stones with cubic zirconias.

It's unclear whether the Murfreesboro suspect is tied to other thefts because a description was not available, police said.

The man tends to hit high-end department stores and is suspected of pulling of thefts throughout California, Arizona, Alabama, Oregon, Washington and Nevada, according to the association's Web site