What did the Louvre thieves steal worth millions?

Unknown assailants who broke into the Louvre on Sunday were targeting the Apollo Gallery. Their loot dates back to the time of Napoleon and is worth millions of dollars.

The thieves had carefully planned their operation and chose a particularly valuable target in the Louvre: the Galerie d'Apollon on the first floor, which houses some particularly valuable exhibits. The perpetrators are said to have focused on two display cases.

Nine pieces of jewelry stolen

The thieves stole a total of nine pieces of jewelry from the collection of Napoleon and the Empress. So far it is known that there was a necklace, a brooch, earrings and a tiara underneath. Two crowns were also mentioned – one of them that of Empress Eugénie, which was found broken after the crime, writes 20minuten. A second object of robbery was also found, which is still unknown, reports albinfo.ch.

The French Crown Jewels at the Louvre

In addition to the magnificent furnishings of the room itself, the remaining pieces of the French Crown Jewels are the gallery's main attractions. In 1887, the French Third Republic sold off most of the crown jewels to allay fears of a royal coup. Only jewels of historical importance were excluded. In the same year, the 23 remaining jewels were exhibited in the Galerie d'Apollon and presented in display cases alongside other valuable objects from the Louvre's collections. Additional display cases were added in 1985 and 2020.

Among the most important pieces are the crowns made for Louis XV and Napoleon. The Hydrangea Diamond, a 20-carat orange-pink diamond that was purchased by Louis XIV, and the 140-carat Regent Diamond, widely considered one of the purest diamonds ever created, are also on display there. So is the Sancy, a 55-carat light yellow diamond that was once part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.