His face was covered with a yellow bandana and a helmet.
The man set off the fire alarm to muffle screams coming from the shop owner, before taking off on an e-scooter.
Footage obtained by 9News captured the struggle.
“Open the safe!” the man could be heard saying.
“I think he had a weapon in the bag, and he told me, ‘If you don’t open the safe, I’ll hurt you,'” staff member Zeina Zalzale said.
Zalzale, who had been closing up shop for the day, showed him the empty safe.
“When he saw the safe is empty, he started to look around and grab anything he could reach with his hand.”
The man could be seen grabbing trays of jewellery from the table.
The mother of three tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let her past.
All the while, shoppers went past without noticing the terror unfolding inside the store.
The man fled through a fire escape onto Pitt Street, where it’s believed his e-scooter was parked, taking more than $100,000 worth of jewellery with him.
“He took some very expensive engagement ring trays, one carat, two carats of diamonds,” Zalzale said.
9News understands the same man was also captured on CCTV inside the Woolworths and Big W next door, where he stole a pair of gloves before carrying out the robbery.
The man remains on the run.
