The crown jewels stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday morning are worth an estimated 88 million euros, or AU$157 million, the Paris prosecutor investigating the incident said Tuesday, ranking the recent theft among the largest high-profile museum heists in recent memory.
A sapphire tiara, necklace and earring set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said more than 100 investigators are working to discover who stole the jewels from the museum in broad daylight, the Associated Press reported, and recover the missing items.
- Beccuau said that the estimated value of the jewels do not include their historical value to the country of France.
- France’s culture minister Rachida Dati on Tuesday said the security system in place at the Louvre was working at the time of the theft, which saw the culprits ride a basket lift to an exterior window of the museum, smash display cases and flee with the historic jewels.
Big Number
7. That’s how many minutes it took for the thieves to steal the jewels, including less than four minutes inside the Louvre. The museum’s alarm system was triggered when the window was forced, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Monday, but the heist was finished by the time security agents reached the Apollo Gallery where the crown jewels were on display, AP reported.
Crucial Quote
Beccuau told broadcaster RTL Tuesday it would be a “very bad idea” for the thieves to try to disassemble and sell the jewels piecemeal, and said, “We can perhaps hope that they’ll think about this and won’t destroy these jewels without rhyme or reason.”
What Was Stolen From The Louvre?
The stolen items are a pearl tiara and corsage-bow brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III; an emerald necklace and earrings from Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a sapphire tiara, necklace and single sapphire earring that belonged to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense; and a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s crown was also found damaged on the thieves’ escape route, investigators said.
An emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings that belonged to Empress Marie Louise.
Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
Empress Eugenie’s tiara of pearls.
Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
Empress Eugénie’s crown was found damaged on the thieves’ escape route.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Background
The Louvre is widely considered the most visited museum in the world and drew 8.7 million visitors last year. The gilded Apollon Gallery of the Louvre, where the theft took place, has housed the French crown jewels since 1887. The theft was the first to occur at the Louvre in almost 30 years, since the painting “Le chemin de Sèvres” by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was stolen in 1998. It was never found. Jewel thefts from museums aren’t particularly common—paintings are more often the target of museum heists—but they do happen. More than $120 million worth of diamonds were stolen from the Gruenes Gewoelbe museum in Germany in 2019 (most were later recovered) and gold jewellery and gems were among the items announced stolen from the British Museum in 2023.
The Louvre Museum was evacuated and the main entrance in front of the pyramid was immediately closed following a burglary in Paris on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025.
Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
An infographic detailing the seven-minute heist at the Louvre Museum.
Anadolu via Getty Images
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