The Louvre Museum in Paris, France, witnessed a shocking jewelry theft incident last Sunday (October 19) which has left the world in disbelief. The French Ministry of Culture confirmed that a total of nine pieces of jewelry with “inestimable historical value” were stolen, including jewels worn by several French queens, of which only one piece has been recovered so far. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident.
The theft took place in the Apollo Gallery (Galerie d’Apollon), which houses the collection of French royal jewelry and the “Regent Diamond” series. Two high-security display cases in the gallery were targeted by the masked thieves who arrived at the museum from the Seine River bank side in the morning and used a retractable ladder to climb the facade before breaking into the exhibition hall. The museum had only recently opened to visitors at the time.
Within a mere four minutes, the suspects managed to steal several “priceless” jewels and fled the scene on motorcycles. Currently, investigators are analyzing the liquid and equipment left at the scene. Additionally, authorities suspect that the thieves were familiar with the museum’s layout and are investigating the possibility of an inside job.
French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, noted that the burglary displayed a “high level of professionalism” as the thieves had a precise knowledge of the layout of the exhibition hall and the alarm system. Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, admitted that this incident will compel the government to reassess the security system of cultural institutions nationwide.
Although French officials have not disclosed the exact value of the losses, according to insurance data and estimates from jewel experts at the Louvre, the stolen items may be worth over one hundred million euros. Minister Dati stressed that the “truly incalculable value lies in the historical and symbolic significance of these artifacts.”
The stolen jewelry confirmed by the French Ministry of Culture includes:
Queen Marie-Amélie was the wife of King Louis-Philippe of France. Queen Hortense was the mother of Napoleon III. The stolen crown, sapphire necklace, and sapphire earrings were worn by them respectively.
The sapphire crown was crafted with a base of woven gold threads, adorned with 17 Sri Lankan star sapphires weighing a total of 230 carats, and more than 1800 old-mine cut diamonds. The sapphires, showing unique fluorescence under ultraviolet light, are rare “unenhanced natural specimens” amongst royal jewelry of the 19th century.
The sapphire necklace features 24 Sri Lankan star sapphires, the largest being 28 carats with distinct six-ray star effects, complemented by approximately 1200 rose-cut diamonds totaling about 150 carats.
Each sapphire earring is set with a 15-carat pear-shaped sapphire and 36 old-mine cut diamonds. The sapphires show natural color zoning and three-phase inclusions upon microscopic examination, confirming their origin from the Ratnapura mines in Sri Lanka. The metal part is made…
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