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Tag: Empress Eugénie

  • Paris prosecutor reports 4 more arrests in connection with Louvre jewel heist

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    Paris prosecutor reports 4 more arrests in connection with Louvre jewel heist

    Paris prosecutor has been giving more details about the latest on the investigation into the heist at the Louvie Museum, confirming many of the details that we had understood already about the two men currently in custody that they are in their 30s, that they were known to police before the heist for things like low level delinquency, petty thefts, and that they had been tracked down thanks to DNA that had been found on one of the helmets they left behind. They are of Algerian nationality. And come from the outskirts of Paris. What the prosecutor said though is that they do believe that there were 4 people involved in the heist on the day itself. 2 others remain at large, and that she wouldn’t give that many details because this was an ongoing investigation. She also pointed out that whilst these other two were at large and they were looking for altogether they had not excluded the possibility that someone else may have been involved, whether to commission the theft or in other ways. She also added that there was no suggestion that anyone on the inside of the Louvre had been complicit in the heist. The latest details then an investigation that continues and no sign yet, she explained of the jewels themselves. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

    Paris prosecutor reports 4 more arrests in connection with Louvre jewel heist

    Updated: 5:56 AM PST Nov 25, 2025

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    The Paris prosecutor is reporting four more arrests in connection with the jewel heist at the Louvre Museum in October. Two men and two women from the Paris region were taken into custody on Tuesday morning.The loot, valued at around $102 million, hasn’t been recovered. It includes a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise, jewels tied to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, and Empress Eugénie’s pearl-and-diamond tiara.This is a breaking news story and will be updated.Video below shows Louvre thieves escaping via truck-mounted lift

    PARIS —

    The Paris prosecutor is reporting four more arrests in connection with the jewel heist at the Louvre Museum in October. Two men and two women from the Paris region were taken into custody on Tuesday morning.

    The loot, valued at around $102 million, hasn’t been recovered. It includes a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise, jewels tied to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, and Empress Eugénie’s pearl-and-diamond tiara.

    This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

    Video below shows Louvre thieves escaping via truck-mounted lift

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  • What was stolen in the Louvre heist? What to know about the 8 jewelry pieces — and the ‘race against time’ to save them.

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    As of Monday, the Louvre Museum in Paris was still closed following the brazen daylight heist that took place on Sunday and resulted in eight missing pieces of Napoleonic jewelry.

    In a swift robbery, which officials believe took place within seven minutes, thieves disguised as museum workers rode a truck-mounted basket lift up the famed museum’s exterior and forcibly entered through a window, just 30 minutes after the Louvre had opened for the day. After smashing display cases in the Galerie d’Apollon, the masked robbers fled the scene on motorbikes. Eight “objects of inestimable heritage value” were stolen, per France’s Ministry of Culture, and one item, an ornate gold crown, was recovered near the scene.

    “Thanks to the professionalism and swift action of the Louvre’s agents, the criminals were put to flight, leaving behind their equipment and one of the stolen objects, namely the crown of Empress Eugénie, the condition of which is currently under review,” read a statement from the Ministry of Culture.

    Empress Eugénie’s crown was discovered near the scene. (Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images)

    Art detective Arthur Brand said on Monday that police have only one week to find the missing jewels before they’re potentially gone forever. Because of how famous the jewels are, Brand told Sky News, the “only thing” the thieves can do is “melt the silver and gold down, dismantle the diamonds” and “try to cut them.” If this is done, he added, the jewelry “will probably disappear forever.”

    “They [the police] have a week,” Brand told the outlet. “If they catch the thieves, the stuff might still be there. If it takes longer, the loot is probably gone and dismantled. It’s a race against time.”

    Below, Yahoo breaks down what was stolen.

    Diamond and pearl tiara and diamond brooch

    The tiara of Empress Eugenie, set with pearls and diamonds.

    A tiara of Empress Eugénie. (Musée du Louvre)

    Consisting of diamonds, oriental pearls and silver, Empress Eugénie’s tiara is considered one of the Louvre’s most prized pieces. The tiara, made by jeweler Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier in 1882, per the Louvre, is composed of 212 pearls and 1,999 diamonds and 992 rose-cut stones.

    The diamond brooch of Empress Eugénie is shaped like a bow, with two hanging tassels.

    A diamond brooch that belonged to Empress Eugénie. (Musée du Louvre)

    Empress Eugénie’s large bodice bow was also stolen in the heist. The item, which is made of diamonds, silver and gold, features tassels and articulated fringes. It was designed by jeweler François Kramer.

    Composed of 2,438 diamonds and 196 rose-cut stones, the brooch also originally formed the buckle of a diamond belt of more than 4,000 stones, which was exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 before being worn by Empress Eugénie, according to the Louvre.

    Eugénie, per CNN, reportedly wore the belt during a visit by Queen Victoria to the Palace of Versailles in 1855, and once more for the baptism of the Prince Imperial in 1856, before eventually transforming the item into a brooch.

    Sapphire jewelry set

    A tiara, necklace and earrings set made of sapphires and diamonds.

    A sapphire and diamond set worn by Queen Hortense, Queen Marie-Amélie and Isabelle of Orléans. (Musée du Louvre)

    A sapphire and diamond set, consisting of a tiara, necklace and single earring, was worn successively by Queen Hortense, Queen Marie-Amélie and Isabelle of Orléans. According to the Louvre, the articulated necklace is adorned with eight sapphires of varying sizes and 631 diamonds. The tiara and single earring are composed of Ceylon sapphires in their natural state.

    While its origins and designer remain unknown, the Louvre considers the set “a precious testament to Parisian jewelry.”

    Emerald necklace and earrings

    Emerald necklace and earrings belonging to Empress Marie-Louise.

    Marie-Louise of Austria’s emerald set. (Musée du Louvre)

    Napoleon delivered this set to Marie-Louise of Austria, his second wife, in 1810, with the intention of adding it to her personal jewelry case, according to the Louvre. Crafted by jeweler François-Régnault Nitot, the necklace is composed of 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds. The necklace and the pair of earrings, which were preserved in their original state, joined the Louvre’s collection in 2004.

    ‘Reliquary’ brooch

    The reliquary brooch, composed of diamonds.

    The reliquary brooch. (Musée du Louvre)

    Created in 1855 by jeweler Paul-Alfred Bapst for Empress Eugénie, the diamond and gold brooch, known as the “reliquary brooch,” consists of seven diamonds surrounding a rosette, followed by two large diamonds that lie opposite each other, and additional diamonds that suspend from them. According to the museum, a total of 94 diamonds were used to craft this piece. On the back of the brooch are engravings of leaves and foliage.

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  • ‘Priceless’ jewels stolen in raid on Louvre Museum in Paris

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    A manhunt is under way for a gang of thieves who carried out a broad daylight raid on Paris’s Louvre Museum and stole jewels described as priceless.

    French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said it took just minutes for the masked suspects to carry out the burglary on Sunday morning, shortly after the museum opened to visitors.

    The gang appear to have used a mechanical ladder to reach a first-floor window, before breaking into display cases and escaping on mopeds.

    The gallery targeted houses France’s royal jewels. Officials said nine items were taken. One – a crown belonging to Napoleon III’s wife – was seemingly dropped and found nearby.

    The Louvre was evacuated and remained closed on Sunday.

    The jewellery was stolen from the Galeria d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) at around 09:30 local time (08:30 GMT), the French interior ministry said.

    The thieves used battery powered disc cutters to gain access to the building, Paris prosecutors told the BBC.

    Four people were involved in the robbery, with two entering the building and threatening guards once inside, they added.

    A vehicle-mounted extendable ladder was seen leading up to a window a stone’s throw from the River Seine, apparently left behind by the gang.

    The gang appear to have used a ladder to reach a first-floor window [DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images]

    France’s culture ministry said the gang tried to set fire to the vehicle before they left but they were prevented by a member of museum staff.

    No one was injured in the incident.

    The nine items stolen from the gallery all date from France’s 19th century royalty and are encrusted with thousands of diamonds and other precious gemstones.

    Among them was a brooch that once belonged to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, and a pair of emerald earrings.

    Empress Eugénie’s crown was found near the scene, apparently dropped by the thieves in their haste to get away.

    An illustration showing the position of the Gallery of Apollo as it relates to the rest of the Louvre, overlooking the River Seine

    [BBC]

    The ornate crown features golden eagles and is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the Louvre’s website. Investigators are checking it for damage.

    It is thought that criminals prefer to steal jewels because they can be broken down and sold for cash, whereas it is more difficult to make money from precious stolen artworks which are easily recognisable.

    Beyond their commercial value, Nuñez said the stolen pieces have a cultural and historical value that could not be calculated, describing them as “priceless” and “of immeasurable heritage value”.

    Police were seen turning tourists away from the museum, the world’s most visited, throughout Sunday as people continued to arrive oblivious to the closure and investigation.

    American tourists Jim and Joan Carpenter said they were about to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa when security guards “swept us out of the gallery”.

    The couple were ushered past the Galeria d’Apollon and out through an emergency exit, Mrs Carpenter told Reuters news agency.

    Mr Carpenter said there was “lots of confusion” in the museum, and guards told the couple there were “technical difficulties” when they asked what was going on.

    “I knew something was up because of the way they swept the whole museum,” Mrs Carpenter said.

    Mr Carpenter added: “But it’s great. This is our last day of a long trip and it’s the most exciting part today.”

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