We have “good hope” that the criminals be arrested “very quickly”indicated yesterday to France Inter, the new Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez. It is true that the robbers left many clues during the spectacular theft of the crown jewels on Sunday October 19 morning at the Louvre. Starting with the mover’s ladder that they used to climb to the first floor of the Apollo Gallery where the jewelry was located.
The very experienced thieves actually entered this room via an ordinary but not very discreet mover’s ladder parked along the Louvre after having broken the window. They then rushed towards the two display cases whose contents they coveted, grabbed 9 pieces of jewelry and went down the same ladder before fleeing on a scooter which they had left nearby. The flight took place in less than 7 minutes.
Tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, stolen from the Louvre on October 19, 2025.
There is an urgent need to find them as quickly as possible, because there is a great risk that the sponsors of the theft will destroy the hundreds of precious stones that make up these jewels. Because as much as these jewels are almost unsaleable as is on the art market, the stones can easily be sold.
The loss of these jewels offered by Napoleon I or Napoleon III would indeed be a real catastrophe. First for their economic value. Empress Eugénie’s large bodice bow alone was acquired in 2008 for nearly 7 million euros. But even more for their historical value. The stolen objects were made during the first half of the 19th century and entered the Louvre collections mainly in 1985 and into the 21st century. One jewel was finally abandoned by the thieves and eight disappeared:
- A gold tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, featuring 24 sapphires and 1,083 diamonds.
- A necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, composed of 8 Ceylon sapphires and 631 diamonds.
- An earring, from a pair of the sapphire parure of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, composed of 59 diamonds.
- An emerald necklace from the set of Empress Marie Louise of Habsburg Lorraine composed of 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds.
- A pair of emerald earrings (6 set with 108 diamonds) from Marie-Louise’s set.
- A brooch called a reliquary brooch made of gold and 98 diamonds
- A tiara of Empress Eugénie, made of fine pearls (212) and 1,998 antique cut diamonds and 992 pink diamonds.
- A large bodice bow of Empress Eugénie made of 2,600 diamonds.
According to the authorities, numerous surveillance cameras were able to film the theft and the escape of the criminals, which should facilitate the investigation. The museum was evacuated and closed all day Sunday in order to preserve the traces and allow the intervention of the judicial police.
The foreign press, with many headlines on the subject, does not fail to point out that no one paid any attention to this moving truck installed along the Louvre on a Sunday morning. She notes that although there were 5 guards in the room or nearby their role was limited to warning the police and bringing the visitors to safety, which did not prevent one of them from filming one of the thieves breaking the jewelry window. One more clue for the police.
