At 9:30 a.m., the thieves (who were dressed like workmen) parked a truck under the windows of the Apollo Gallery. To break into the gallery, they carved the glass with the disc cutter, setting off the security alarm. They threatened guards with the disc cutter and smashed two display cases, grabbing the jewels while the Louvre’s staff members evacuated the museum.
Image sources/credit: Google Earth (basemap); Paris prosecutor. Samuel Granados/The New York Times
By 9:38, the thieves had mounted two high-powered scooters waiting for them outside, and then drove away. The entire incident took around seven minutes, according to the French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, who said it was the work of “an experienced team who had clearly scouted the location.”
What was stolen
• Tiara of Empress Eugénie: features 212 pearls, 1,998 diamonds and 992 rose-cut diamonds.
• Empress Eugénie decorative bow: Described as the centerpiece of a belt, the bow includes 2,438 diamonds and 196 rose-cut diamonds.
• Empress Eugénie brooch
• Queen Hortense of Holland’s Sapphire Tiara, Necklace, and earrings: This tiara featuring 24 Ceylon sapphires and 1,083 diamonds, as well as a necklace that includes eight sapphires, surrounded by diamonds in intricate gold settings, and a pair of sapphire earrings. Only one of the earrings was taken in the robbery.
• Empress Marie Louise’s Emerald Necklace and earrings: Originally given by Napoleon to Marie Louise, his second wife, for their marriage in 1810, the necklace includes 32 emeralds, both pearl and lozenge shaped, as well as 1,138 diamonds.
• A crown worn by Empress Eugénie: Featuring eight gold eagles, 1,354 diamonds, 1,136 rose-cut diamonds and 56 emeralds, the robbers dropped the crown outside of the Louvre in their haste to leave, and it has since been recovered.
• Another jeweled item that was “lost or abandoned during the perpetrators’ escape,” according to the Paris proecutor’s office. No further information was given about this item.
The Aftermath
Needless to say, France’s far right lawmakers have decided to pretend like they care about art, with Éric Ciotti declaring on social media ““The government, in an ultimate symbol of its collapse, has allowed the Crown Jewels to be stolen! When the State no longer ensures the security of its treasures, the entire nation is threatened.” Ian Brossat, a Communist senator and longtime Paris councilor, noted that the museum had closed for several hours last summer because of a wildcat strike by employees who were warning about untenable conditions in the overcrowded museum and asked “Why were their warnings not heard by the minister?”
There have also been divided views on the fate of the gems, with lot of folks saying that criminals often target jewelry because it’s easier to dismantle and resell discreetly for cash, unlike high-profile artworks which are easily recognized and difficult to trade on the black market. Other believe that the thieves already had buyers for these particular items because they were jewelry sets and the fact that far more expensive items like the famed Regent diamond (valued at more than $60 million and that was worn by French monarchs like Louis XV, Louis XVI, and Napoleon I) were not taken during the heist. Pretty much everyone I confued and angry about how this happened in the first place. While security remains stringent around marquee works like the Mona Lisa—which is housed behind bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled case—the incident highlighted inconsistencies in protections across the Louvre’s vast collection of over 33,000 objects.
“How can [thieves] ride a lift to a window and take jewels in the middle of the day?,” Magali Cunel, a Louvre visitor, told the Guardian. “It’s just unbelievable that a museum this famous can have such obvious security gaps.”
As of now, there are no leads on the perpetrators or the current location of the jewels.
Source
:: artnet
:: New York Times
:: Tiara Mania: Has images of the stolen items.