Historic Royal Jewelry Theft: 8 Priceless Treasures Stolen from the Louvre Museum

Here are five essential aspects of the eight priceless jewelry pieces that were brazenly stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday.

The stolen treasures represent two centuries of French royal history, having belonged to queens and empresses of France.

Empress Eugenie's magnificent tiara and crown were created by celebrated jeweler Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier shortly after her 1853 marriage to Napoleon III. While thieves took both pieces, they abandoned the crown during their escape.

"This tiara was worn by Empress Eugenie almost daily at court and appears in her official portraits. She cherished it greatly," Pierre Branda, historian and scientific director of the Napoleon Foundation, explained to AFP.

The thieves also seized a sapphire necklace and earrings set that belonged to Queen Marie Amelie, wife of King Louis-Philippe who ruled France from 1830 to 1848, and Queen Hortense, mother of Napoleon III.

Jewelry historian Vincent Meylan noted that Queen Hortense inherited this set from her mother, Empress Josephine, Napoleon I's first wife. Some experts believe the jewelry may have originally belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette.

"These pieces truly represent a significant part of France's history," Meylan remarked.

The thieves also took a necklace and emerald earrings that Napoleon I had given to his second wife, Empress Marie Louise, as a wedding gift, crafted by her official jeweler, Francois-Regnault Nitot.

Even without their royal provenance, these pieces deserve their place in the Louvre as "exceptional works of art," according to Didier Rykner, editor-in-chief of La Tribune de l'Art website.

Created by master jewelers of their era, these treasures combine diamonds, pearls, and precious stones in spectacular compositions.

Empress Eugenie's "reliquary" brooch, mounted in 1855 by Paul-Alfred Bapst, features 94 diamonds, including a rosette of seven diamonds surrounding a central solitaire formed by two heart-shaped diamonds that Cardinal Mazarin had bequeathed to King Louis XIV.

Empress Eugenie's tiara contains nearly 2,000 diamonds and more than 200 pearls. The sapphire necklace comprises eight midnight blue precious stones and 631 diamonds, while the emerald necklace features 32 stones and 1,138 diamonds, according to the Louvre's website.

Despite their historical significance, most of these jewels only became part of the Louvre collection in recent decades. Of the eight stolen items, seven were acquired within the past forty years.

The emerald set was acquired in 2004 with assistance from the Heritage Fund and the Society of Friends of the Louvre. Marie Amelie's sapphire necklace was obtained in 1985, while Empress Eugenie's tiara and large corsage bow were acquired in 1992 and 2008 respectively.

France's Ministry of Culture has declared that these jewels possess "priceless heritage value." "They are invaluable from a heritage perspective," said Rykner. "However, their monetary value can be assessed."

While these items were sold relatively recently with documented sales, their prices remain confidential.

"The accurate description is 'unsellable,'" Meylan explained. Reselling such catalogued and identifiable jewels in their current form would be impossible.

Experts fear that these historical pieces might be dismantled, with the stones and pearls removed and remounted to create new jewelry.

"If we don't recover these jewels very quickly, they will certainly disappear," warned Meylan. "This is where treasure becomes truly priceless. We risk losing significant pieces of France's history."