Two men disguised themselves as women in burkas while robbing a jewellery store in Toronto in the first such case in the city, police alleged Wednesday as they released security video of the incident.

A large amount of jewellery, worth about $500,000, was stolen from Mona Clara Jewellers, near York Mills Road and Leslie Street, during the Oct. 14 daylight robbery, Staff Inspector Mike Earl said.

Police allege the robbery began with the suspects taking control of the two people inside the store.

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They said one of the suspects, who was armed with a black handgun, forced one of the employees to open the display case and both suspects then removed a quantity of jewels and put them in bags.

The video shows one of the suspects clearing out the cabinets.

Police say the men were inside the store for about five minutes and then fled using the back door.

"It is our belief that with this amount of jewellery that somebody may have purchased a large quantity of jewellery shortly after the robbery that may point us to the right direction," Earl said as he appealed for the public's help in solving the crime.

One suspect is described as black, 5-foot-11 and the other as 6-foot-3.

"This is the first jewellery store robbery that I have seen [in Toronto] where they dressed up in burkas," Earl said.