Priceless Gems Stolen from the Louvre Art Museum

Written by Barron Bryant

On October 19th, 2 individuals entered the world-famous Louvre art museum from the second floor in Paris, France, stealing several high-value pieces of jewelry. They then exited the same way they entered and sped away on high-powered scooters with two other accomplices. This is the first art theft from the Louvre since the painting “Le chemin de Sèvres” was stolen in 1998.

So how does this happen? How do 2 people just waltz into the most famous art museum in the world and steal France’s crown jewels? The details are that the 2 individuals, who entered through the second-story window, were dressed in orange vests to disguise themselves as construction workers. They then used a truck-mounted furniture lift to reach the window and used a disc cutter to enter through the glass. The individuals then threatened the workers with power tools, stole items from two display cases, and exited the same way they had come in. Two other individuals were waiting on motor scooters outside of the building, and the thieves sped away, dropping the most valuable item, the “Crown of Empress Eugénie” in the process. The entire robbery took less than 8 minutes total, and no real suspects have been found.

As for the fate of the gems, Christopher Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International, a private company that specializes in locating looted artworks, believes that the stones may already be gone. He stated, “As we've said from the beginning of this theft, if the jewels are not recovered in the first 48 hours, they are most likely broken up into smaller jewels and gems and sold in the marketplace.” 

So, unfortunately, the gems are most likely gone forever, which will probably lead to new exhibits in the future as well as further security expansion, as many believe that is who is at fault due to how simply the thieves got in and out and how few guards there were at the time.