What to know about the shocking Louvre jewelery heist
The French can TV series Lupine Was it prophetic? The show depicted a robbery at the Louvre Museum, an event that came true on the morning of October 19, when a group of professional thieves managed to break into the world-famous Louvre Museum. Paris Museum. In just seven minutes, they stole a collection of the priceless French Crown Jewels.
The theft occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. local time, shortly after the museum opened to the public. Using a ladder mounted on a truck, the thieves entered the Galerie d’Apollon – located in the Petite Galerie wing of the Louvre – through a second-floor window which they forced open with an angle grinder.
Upon entering, the thieves smashed at least two display cabinets, took the valuable artifacts, and then fled a few minutes later on two Yahama motorcycles, disappearing into traffic and quickly turning onto the highway.
According to French authorities, the stolen items included eight crown jewels, almost all of them from the late Napoleonic era. A ninth item, Empress Eugenie’s diamond and emerald tiara, was found damaged nearby, apparently dropped by fleeing criminals. The thieves got away with the tiara, which also belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, in full imperial style, decorated with 212 pearls, 1,998 diamonds and another 992 rose-shaped diamonds. They also received a bow-shaped brooch belonging to Empress Eugenie, studded with 2,438 diamonds and 196 rose-shaped stones. Also included in the stolen item was a tiara of 24 Ceylon rubies and 1,083 diamonds, accompanied by a necklace of eight magnificent rubies, more diamonds and gold, and a pendant earring that belonged to Queen Maria Amalia.
It is difficult to determine the value of this set of jewelry; They are not just luxury items that have their own value, but rather priceless possessions. The artisanal value of gems, stones and gold is multiplied by their historical value, not to mention that they are part of the heritage of the French state, which makes their sale on the traditional market impossible in itself. However, it is possible, as often happens in this type of theft, that thieves can dismantle the artefacts, melt down the precious metals, re-cut the jewelery to make it less traceable, and sell it on the gray or black market, potentially generating tens of millions of euros.
Regardless of its outcome, the Louvre heist was a skilled operation. Some analysts say the thieves took advantage of weaknesses in the museum’s security system, which has suffered for years from staffing problems, constant work in progress, and mounting pressure from huge and growing numbers of visitors. A national and international manhunt has now begun. At the moment, there are no identified suspects, but apparently all available photos from the area are being examined (including a video showing one of the robbers in action).
With all the surveillance footage and cameras now everywhere in the city, there should be plenty of material to identify potential leads. President Emmanuel Macron strongly condemned the incident, and stressed that those responsible would be brought to justice soon. Moreover, long gone are the days of Italian interior design Vincenzo Peruggia He committed what was until now considered the greatest theft in the history of the Louvre: the audacious misappropriation of a Leonardo painting Mona LisaWhich happened on August 21, 1911.
That painting was returned two years later. Perugia attempted to resell it to an art dealer in Florence who then raised the alarm. Perhaps a similar stroke of luck could happen in this case as well.
This story originally appeared on Wired Italy It was translated from Italian.