Paris Hilton -- I TOLD YOU ... I Didn't Pilfer the Pearls!

Say what you will about Paris Hilton, but she definitely knows her jewelry ... just ask the insurance company that is eating crow after falsely accusing her of a heist.

Here's the lowdown. Remember when the Burglar Bunch stole $2.8 million worth of jewelry from Paris' Hollywood Hills home back in 2008? And remember when cops recovered most of it and then returned it to Paris?

Turns out ... some of the stolen jewelry was on loan from Damiani, a fancy schmancy jewelry shop, and their insurance company thought the Damiani jewelry was part of the stash the cops returned to Paris.

Paris insisted she didn't get the Damiani jewels back, so the insurance company filed a lawsuit against Paris for the items.

But we've learned the insurance company now believes Paris was telling the truth all along, and never got the jewels in question back from the cops.