Stolen Louvre jewels have ‘inestimable' value, officials say

Thieves stole a treasure trove of historic French royal jewelry in the Louvre Museum on Sunday, October 19, in a daring brazen daylight robbery that lasted only several minutes.

Though the objects are being described by authorities as “priceless” and of “inestimable” heritage value, the heist is raising an immediate issue as to the future of the individual, historically valuable pieces.

The theft targeted the Apollo Gallery, home to France's crown jewels.

The thieves entered the museum through a first-floor window through a mechanical lift, and forced their way inside using power tools and got away on motorbikes in an operation that lasted four minutes.

As reported by France’s Ministry of Culture, the thieves managed to rob and steal eight particular objects from two high-security display cases.

The ninth item, the crown of Empress Eugénie was dropped during their escape and found outside the museum.

The confirmed stolen items include:

• Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense’s tiara, sapphire necklace, and a sapphire earring from a pair
• Empress Marie-Louise’s emerald necklace and a pair of emerald necklace
• Empress Eugénie’s tiara, large bodice knot brooch
• An additional reliquary brooch

Officials have not assigned any market value to these stolen jewels emphasizing that they have incalculable historical and cultural worth.

The Interior Ministry stated, “Beyond their market value, these items have priceless heritage and historical value.”

But experts estimated the value using materials involved. The recovered Crown of Empress Eugénie is set with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, suggesting the immense material worth of the items they successfully stole.

Another comparable item is the world-famous Regent Diamond which is estimated by Sotheby’s to be worth around $92 million.

What will happen next?

Governments and art crime analysts are currently in a dilemma as to what happens to the jewels. Most experts agree that they are too well-known to be sold as a whole.

“The jewels might not be seen again,” stated Tobias Kormind, the managing director of 77 diamonds.

“Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance,” he added.

Art detective Arthur Brand stated that it was a “race against time.”

He said, “If there's some gold and silver, they can melt it down... they might have dismantled these objects and sold the diamonds separately by then.”

This process would radically decrease the worth of jewels. Margo van Felius, a lecturer in organized crime explained that the jewels also have a value in the history beyond previous stones so in case they are broken and stones are extracted, the items will lose their provenance and resultantly their significant value.

French president Emmanuel Macron has vowed to recover the stolen jewelry. 

However, with the thieves still at large, the fear remains that these pieces of French imperial history may be lost forever, broken down for their raw gems and precious metals.