Embed from Getty Images
The eight pieces of jewelry stolen from the Louvre Museum on Sunday — glittering works of diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and pearls, all with noted links to French history — have still not yet been recovered. (Except for the one tiara the thieves dropped and damaged while fleeing the scene.) I feel like reactions to the brazen theft have broadly fallen into two categories: French officials exclaiming, “Mon dieu, l’ héritage!” Versus the rest of the world going, “Ooooh, I love a good heist! When’s the movie coming out?” Don’t deny it — I read your comments! As a lover of both jewelry and cinema, I’m caught between the two camps. There’s no denying that the brooches, crowns, earrings, and necklaces stolen were “priceless” and “inestimable,” as many local authorities were saying in the immediate aftermath of the heist. Only now, a few days later, they’ve found a way to estimate a price: over $100 million.

Extremely valuable jewels linked to France’s bygone monarchy were taken from the iconic Paris museum in a stunning daytime heist that lasted just seven minutes on Sunday, Oct. 19.

A matching emerald necklace and emerald earrings worn by Marie-Louise, the second wife of Napoleon, as well as a tiara and large brooch that belonged to Empress Eugénie were among the jewelry stolen, according to Reuters.

The tiara was reportedly later found damaged outside the museum, per the outlet.

The thieves used small chainsaws and angle grinders to get to the targeted room while the museum was open, according to AFP.

Reuters reported that Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau noted that the thieves, who have still not been caught, got away with jewels worth an estimated €88 million ($102.63 million).

“It is important to remember that this damage is an economic damage, but it is nothing compared to the historical damage caused by this theft,” Beccuau said, per the outlet.

A sapphire tiara, a sapphire necklace and a single sapphire earring worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, as well as a brooch known as the “reliquary brooch,” were also stolen, according to Reuters.

Authorities believe four people were involved in the heist: two wearing yellow vests posing as workers at the museum, and two others riding scooters, Le Parisien reported. The investigation and manhunt remain ongoing with some experts warning that after 48 hours, it’s unlikely the stolen jewels will be recovered.

According to ABC News, Laurence des Cars, the director of the Louvre, will appear before French lawmakers on Wednesday, Oct. 22, to answer questions regarding the museum’s security and what went wrong over the weekend.

[From People]

Louvre director Laurence des Cars appeared before the French Senate yesterday in a hearing that lasted over two hours, and from what I read of BBC News’ live reporting it was un doozy. Instead of trying to puff up the museum’s security measures, des Cars admitted defeat from the outset, saying “We failed these jewels” and “The weakness of our perimeter protection is known.” No sh-t, Poirot. And des Cars continued at length about how old the building is which makes outfitting it with the highest degree of security infrastructure nigh on impossible. She even called herself a “whistleblower” because something something “I noticed the equipment was old when I started this job four years ago!” But the pièce de résistance — the critical bit that does the most to explain how two people posing as construction workers can break into the world’s most-visited museum, steal over $100M in jewelry of national pride, and make a getaway on scooters in all of seven minutes — has to do with the thieves’ point of entry. They broke the window of a balcony to the Gallery of Apollo. The gallery has only ONE camera, and it was pointing AWAY from the balcony. Does anyone else feel like this hearing acted more like an invitation for criminals to try their worst?

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images