The Louve theves dropped Empress Eugenie’s emerald crown when they fled the scene of the heist in October last year, leaving it badly dented. But the eight pieces they got away with still have not been found.
The Louvre has announced plans to restore the crown of Empress Eugenie, which abandoned by thieves during their gateway after a brazen heist in the Paris museum last year.
Thieves made off with €88 million euros ($104 million) in jewels in October but dropped the 170-year-old crown as they escaped.
The crown was left “badly deformed,” the Louvre said on Thursday, but it was nevertheless “nearly intact” and could be restored “without the need for reconstruction.”
All emeralds remain, 10 diamonds missing
The crown was part of a pair commissioned by Napoleon III in 1855 for him and his wife, although neither of them had a formal coronation.
Louvre officials said the crown still retained all 56 of its emeralds, while it was only missing 10 “very small” diamonds from the 1,354 that originally adorned the piece. Of the eight golden eagles around the rim, only one was missing.
The museum will open a competitive bidding process to select an accredited restorer under the French Heritage Code, which will also be aided by a new advisory committee of experts comprised of museum officials and jewelry experts.
The museum will also invite one representative from each of the five historical jewelry houses — Mellerio, Chaumet, Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels — to join the advisory committee.
Heist mastermind still at large
October’s unprecedented jewelry heist in the Louvre prompted a major review of the museum’s security.
French authorities have arrested all four members of the alleged heist crew, but officials say the mastermind remains at large.
Eight pieces from France’s crown jewels were stolen, including a emerald necklace belong to Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife Marie-Louise, three pieces from a sapphire jewelry set, and a separate diadem belonging to Eugenie that was adorned with pearls.
None of the jewels have been found.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
DW News
