Following a three-day closure due to a jewelry heist, the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, reopened on Wednesday.
A group of thieves robbed the iconic museum in the French capital on October 19 and broke into the city’s famous museum, stealing eight pieces of jewelry containing priceless pieces from the Napoleonic era. The jewels have not been recovered, but the robbers are still at large.
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What we currently know about the location of the jewelry, where it might be found, and where the thieves might be able to hide it.
What did the Louvre steal?
A group of robbers climbed a truck-mounted ladder at 9:30 am (07:30 GMT) to the second floor of the museum’s gilded Galerie d’Apollon before attempting to gain access to the French crown jewels using an angle grinder to a window. Around 30 minutes after the museum’s opening to the public, the heist took place.
The items that were stolen were:
- A tiara from Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense’s jewelry collection
- a necklace from the same duo’s sapphire jewelry collection
- The sapphire jewelry set includes one earring.
- Empress Marie-Louise’s collection includes an emerald necklace.
- Emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise collection
- A “reliquary” brooch known as the “reliquary” brooch
- Empress Eugenie’s tiara
- a large brooch of Empress Eugenie
The crown of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was also taken by the robbers. The French Ministry of Interior claims that it was found nearby and that it must have been dropped by the thieves.
What is the value of the stolen goods?
According to Parisian public prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the haul of jewels is estimated to be worth 88 million euros ($102 million).
This damage is not comparable to the historical damage caused by this theft, according to Beccuau.
What distinguishes this heist from previous museum heists?
The Louvre has been robbed before, not once. However, previous robberies typically involved the theft of jewelry, such as the Mona Lisa, which was taken in 1911.
Because of the high intrinsic value of the stolen object, American art historian Noah Charney said on Tuesday, “A jewelry theft is a very different thing to think about.”
Because it is typically made of canvas and only panel, pigment, and oil, a painting doesn’t have a high intrinsic value. The value of jewelry is still significant if you sell the components and break down what was stolen, according to Charney.
The jewels could not be located now.
According to Dutch art historian Arthur Brand, the jewels are most likely still there.
Due to the high risk associated with acquiring them, selling them on the black market would lower their value.
According to Brand, “they are very hot,” and the black market price will be significantly lower than the regular market, where the black market prices would be between 10 and 30% of their value. On the black market, this means that the $ 102 million jewels could be sold for between $ 10 and $ 30.
If the jewels are significantly recut and no longer recognized, Charney claimed the thieves won’t need to go to the black market. Re-cutting gems also lowers their value, though. Athief may lose some of the value and size of an antique diamond if they attempt to re-cut it to a contemporary shape.
The stolen jewels may eventually be sold in major diamond markets like Antwerp in Belgium, where some buyers may not care about their origins, according to Corinne Chartrelle, a former officer with the French Police’s unit for cultural property trafficking.
According to Brand, “they might try to sell the jewels in nations like India, Israel, or Dubai.”
Will anyone find the thieves?
“The thieves will undoubtedly be caught,” he declared. According to Brand, 50% of the jewels are recovered, depending on how long it will take to catch the thieves.
The BRB (Brigade de Repression du Banditisme), a specialized Paris police unit with experience handling high-profile thefts, has been given the task of public prosecutor to look into the heist.
Former BRB officer Pascal Szkudlara, who previously worked for the police, described how the unit handled the $4 million theft of media personality Kim Kardashian’s engagement ring in Paris. Szkudlara claimed he had a “100 percent” belief that the thieves would eventually be apprehended.
In an effort to find suspicious people in and around the building, police are expected to review surveillance camera footage going back weeks.
However, time is tight because, even if the thieves are caught, the jewels will never be returned to their original condition if they are recut.
Have there recently been any additional robberies in European museums?
The Louvre robbery comes in response to recent jewelry thefts from other European museums. Among the recent events are:
Museum of Natural History, France, September 2025
A 24-year-old Chinese woman was detained in Barcelona on September 30 after stealing six gold nuggets from Paris’ Museum of Natural History. The gold nuggets had a price tag of about 1.5 million euros ($1.74).
It is unknown who may have melted the melted gold, but the woman was detained while attempting to dispose of it. In a cyberattack, the museum’s alarms and security system were disabled, but it’s not clear whether the thieves were responsible for the cyberattack or whether the theft was opportunistic.
Drents Museum, Netherlands, January 2025
The Drents Museum in Assen, northeast of the Netherlands, where thieves stole four artefacts, including three gold bracelets and a gold helmet, which are thought to be around 2,500 years old.
The ancient Dacians, a society that once lived in the region that is now Romania, were the subject of an exhibit.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced in late July that the heist investigation had come to an end and that three suspects had been identified. According to Dutch media reports, the suspects have been detained and formally indicted. Their most recent hearing took place in an Assen court on October 16.
The PPS did not provide location information for the stolen goods. It stated in an update on May 9 that it still believed the main suspects were still in possession of them and that they hadn’t been completely destroyed. The PPS stated that there is no current information about whether an external client was responsible for the theft.
May 2024: Ely Museum, UK
A gold torc and gold bracelet from the Bronze Age were taken from the Ely Museum in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, on May 7.
A 5, 000-pound ($6, 671) reward was provided later that month for information that led to the theft. No information has been released regarding the theft’s progress or the recovery of the stolen goods.
Germany’s Celtic and Roman Museum opens on November 20, 2022.
483 antiquated gold coins were taken from the Bavarian Celtic and Roman Museum in Manching. According to what the New York Times reported at the time, an official estimated the coins’ estimated value of $1.7 million.
Source: Aljazeera
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