The audacious daylight theft of crown jewellery from the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday has sent shock waves through France, raising concerns about security.
Eight pieces were stolen from Galerie d’Apollon, which was built by Louis XIV in 1661. Decorated in gilt leaf and paintings, the Apollon hall would later influence the glittering Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.
Using a cherry picker and cutting equipment to break into the room during the museum's opening hours, the thieves made off with eight pieces dating from the 19th century within minutes.
The stolen items carry profound historical significance and were owned and worn by French royalty, including Queen Hortense, wife of Louis Bonaparte, and Queen Marie-Amelie, wife of Louis Philippe I.
Among the stolen items is an exquisite emerald necklace once gifted by Napoleon I to his second wife, Marie-Louise, in celebration of their wedding in 1810. The piece features 32 emeralds set alongside 1,138 brilliant-cut diamonds. A pair of matching earrings from the same set has also been stolen.
Also missing is a sapphire tiara, containing 24 Ceylon sapphires nestled among 1,083 diamonds, formerly owned by Queen Marie-Amelie, France’s last reigning queen. The piece, which previously belonged to Queen Hortense, Napoleon’s stepdaughter and Queen of Holland, was accompanied by a matching necklace and a pair of sapphire earrings. The necklace and one of the earrings are now missing.
Also taken is a tiara, a delicate example of Second Empire artistry, once worn by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. It is set with 212 pearls, and nearly 2,000 diamonds and 1,000 rose-cut diamonds.
A belt ornament in the form of a diamond bow, adorned with tassels and more than 2,400 diamonds, plus a white diamond reliquary brooch dating to 1855, are also reported stolen.
For collectors and historians alike, the loss extends far beyond material value.
Many of France’s earlier royal jewels were stolen or destroyed in the aftermath of the French Revolution, and while some pieces were recovered, the bulk of the remaining gems were assembled under the reign of Napoleon and his descendants. As such, the pieces offer a tantalising glimpse at a bygone era of grandeur, ceremony and aesthetic rigour. Their disappearance sparks fear among experts that these irreplaceable masterpieces will be dismantled, with the gold melted down and the stones, many of them rare, sold off in batches.
Ceylon sapphire mines, for example, are long exhausted, pushing the value of existing gems ever higher, while recent global unrest has seen the value of gold skyrocket.
One glimmer of hope is the recovery of a crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, that was found outside the Louvre, apparently dropped during the getaway. The ornate diadem, made with 56 emeralds and 1,354 diamonds, features eight golden eagles encircling its base, Napoleonic symbols of power and majesty. It is being examined for damage.
The theft has sent ripples through France’s cultural and curatorial elite. The Louvre itself described the pieces as “a precious testimony to Parisian jewellery”.
