The theft of eight ‘unsellable’ pieces of precious jewelry from the Parisian museum has drawn comparisons to other famous crimes.
The audacious theft of priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris on Oct. 19 was called “the heist of the century” by several local newspapers, and commentators quickly drew parallels to similar headline-grabbing crimes over the years.
Questions about security arrangements at the world’s most visited museum, which attracts close to 9 million visitors per year, have been raised in the aftermath of the broad-daylight theft, along with speculation about who could be behind the crime.
As special investigators scramble to catch those involved, here’s what to know about how the heist was pulled off in mere minutes, what was stolen—and why experts fear the jewels may never be recovered.
How It Happened
Thieves wearing balaclavas broke into an upstairs gallery on the morning of Oct. 19 using a truck-mounted basket lift known as a “cherry picker” to smash an upstairs window before looting precious objects from an area that houses the French crown jewels.
The robbers struck at 9.30 a.m. local time, just half an hour after the museum opened its doors to the public, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told French TV.
They pulled up on a road along the Seine River and climbed an extendable ladder on the cherry picker to break into a window of the Galerie d’Apollon building. Although the thieves didn’t carry conventional weapons, they threatened the museum’s guards with the angle grinders they used to slice through the museum’s window, according to Beccuau.
Le Monde and other French media outlets reported that there were four thieves, two of whom wore reflective yellow vests intended to make them look like construction workers. Two rode in the truck, while two were on scooters.
The gang tried unsuccessfully to set fire to the crane as they fled the scene of the crime on motorbikes.
The museum was evacuated as the alarm sounded following the smash and grab, remaining closed through Oct. 20.
What Was Stolen?
While nine objects were targeted, eight were successfully stolen. The thieves dropped the ninth, the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, during their escape, the prosecutor said. The piece is adorned with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the museum’s website.
Drouot auction house President Alexandre Giquello told Reuters that the auction house would value the crown at “several tens of millions of euros,” noting that in his opinion, it was “not the most important item” in the targeted haul.
The Culture Ministry said the eight stolen items include:
- A tiara from a sapphire jewelry set belonging to Queen Marie‑Amélie and Queen Hortense
- A necklace from the same sapphire set
- A single earring (one half of a pair) from that sapphire set
- An emerald necklace from the jewelry set of Empress Marie‑Louise (Napoleon I’s second wife)
- A pair of emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise set
- A brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”
- A tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie (wife of Napoleon III)
- A large bodice-knot brooch (corsage bow brooch) belonging to Empress Eugénie
Mystery surrounds why the thieves did not also steal the Regent diamond, which is housed in the Galerie d’Apollon and has an estimated value of more than $60 million, according to Sotheby’s.
