Paris woke up to a shocking crime on Sunday. Thieves raided the Louver Museum in broad daylight, stealing rare jewels from the Napoleonic era. Within just four minutes, they escaped on motorcycles with eight priceless artifacts. The stolen items include the emerald necklace and earrings Napoleon Bonaparte gifted his second wife, Marie-Louise.
What makes this crime even more shocking is the timing. The robbery took place just 30 minutes after the museum opened its doors to visitors at 9 a.m.
How the Heist Happened?
Officials said the thieves arrived at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. They came in a truck fitted with an electric ladder and wore safety vests to look like maintenance workers. They climbed to the second-floor Apollo Gallery — the section where France’s Crown Jewels were kept.
Windows were broken with power tools at 9:34 a.m. As reported by The New York Times, “Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, told the BFMTV channel on Sunday that the thieves who entered the gallery did not appear to be armed but that they had threatened five of the museum’s security guards who were nearby. The guards quickly evacuated visitors who were already there.”
The report added, “The thieves cut into two display cases and grabbed some jewels before quickly exiting through the broken window. They tried to burn the bucket of the electric ladder that had carried them aloft and then fled on motorcycles. By 9:38 a.m., they were gone.”
What the Thieves Took?
Authorities confirmed that eight items were stolen, and one was dropped during the escape. Among the missing treasures is the historic emerald necklace and matching earrings that once belonged to Marie-Louise of Austria.
Officials fear the robbers may not care about the jewels’ history and could break them apart to sell the stones separately. The gold and silver could be melted down for quick profit on the black market.
Napoleon’s Gift to Marie-Louise
Napoleon I married Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria on April 2, 1810. To celebrate their union, he ordered an exquisite jewelry set from his court jeweler, Marie-Étienne Nitot. The set included a diadem, necklace, earrings, and a hair comb, all studded with emeralds and diamonds.
The Louver described the necklace as having 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds. “Ten large emeralds, alternating between oval and lozenge shapes and surrounded by diamonds, are linked by palmettes set with small round emeralds. From each of the large emeralds hangs a pear-shaped emerald encircled with diamonds. The central emerald (13.75 metric carats), oval in form, is cut with eight facets.”
After Napoleon’s fall in 1814, Marie-Louise took her jewels with her. The emerald set passed through generations of European royalty before being sold in 1953 to Van Cleef & Arpels. The necklace and earrings eventually made their way to the Louver in 2004, valued at €3.7 million.
Priceless Heritage Lost
These jewels were displayed in the Galerie d’Apollon, one of the most visited sections of the museum. French officials have launched a massive investigation. The daring four-minute robbery has left art lovers and historians across the world stunned — and hoping the jewels that once graced a queen will be found intact.
