Thieves Steal $102 Million In Jewels In Brazen Louvre Robbery
In something that sounds like just a heist movie, but is unfortunately true, $102 million worth of precious jewelry was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris over the weekend. The eight pieces, taken from the museum’s Apollo exhibition in broad daylight, were part of the French Crown Jewels, and include jewelery given by Napoleon to his second wife at their wedding.
How was the Louvre Museum stolen?
The thieves entered the museum after stopping a truck near its exterior facade overlooking the Seine River. Dressed as workers, they lifted a basket to the top floor of the museum before forcing open the window using an angle grinder. This allowed many people to enter and smash the display cases that contained the priceless jewelry.
The theft, which occurred just 30 minutes after the museum opened, lasted about seven minutes. Alarms alerted guards to the problem, but they were unable to chase the thieves who fled on motorcycles. The only consolation is that in their escape, they dropped the ninth item – the tiara of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. It was found broken, and contains 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
What was stolen?
A tiara from the collection of Queen Maria Amalia and Queen Hortense (Photo: Shonagon via Wikimedia Commons, CC0)
Items include Empress Eugenie’s tiara, covered in 212 pearls and nearly 3,000 diamonds, and her sparkling diamond-encrusted bow and brooch. In addition, a 19th-century ruby ​​and diamond necklace and a tiara worn by two queens were also taken. One of the two rings from the collection was also stolen. Napoleon’s wedding gifts to his second wife, Marie Louise, an emerald and diamond necklace with matching earrings, were the final pieces missing in the theft.
Investigation into the stolen French Crown Jewels worth $102 million
While 60 investigators have been assigned to the case and the pieces have been registered in Interpol’s database of stolen works of art, the chance of recovering the valuable pieces is diminishing. Experts believe it is very likely that the thieves will be caught, as a large amount of DNA has been recovered from the scene. This is largely due to a museum guard who prevented the thieves from setting fire to the car they used to enter the museum.
However, the probability of finding the Crown Jewels is slim, as there is a good chance they will be dismantled and sold on the black market. In the meantime, it is left to the French government to pick up the pieces and answer questions about why the thieves were able to access the jewelry so easily. Given that the thieves last month Gold nuggets were stolen from the Paris Museum of Natural HistoryThere are real concerns about security.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the Louvre has faced a high-profile theft. The most famous of them, Mona Lisa What was stolen in 1911 He remained missing for about three years before being returned.
sources: Suspects in Louvre burglary will be arrested, expert predicts, but French Crown Jewels will likely be lost forever; Watch what happened in the Louvre Museum robbery; Thieves steal the Crown Jewels in 4 minutes from the Louvre Museum
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