The Louvre was robbed this Sunday morning by thieves who allegedly stole nine of the 23 pieces in Napoleon and the Empress’s jewelry collection. The Empress’s crown was found broken outside the museum.
Which jewels were stolen this Sunday morning from the Louvre Museum? They are on display in the Apollo Gallery, where Louis XIV first associated his power with the sun god. Among them are the three historic jewels, including “the Regent,” considered the purest and most beautiful diamond in the world, which, according to our information, was not stolen.
Also included are the “Sancy,” a 55.23-carat diamond used at Napoleon’s coronation, and the pink one, known as “Hortensia,” which adorned the robes and crowns of sovereigns.
The gallery, one of the museum’s most spectacular rooms and named for its decorative theme, also houses incredible sets of jewels created in the 19th century, such as the emerald and diamond jewels that belonged to Empress Marie Louise. According to our information, the Empress’s crown was found broken outside the museum.
The 23 jewels, now gathered in one place, are divided into three sets: the pre-Revolutionary jewels, including “the Regent” and “the Sancy,” briefly mounted in 1722 on Louis XV’s personal coronation crown; the jewels of the First Empire, the Restoration, and the July Monarchy; and the Second Empire jewels with the remains of Empress Eugénie’s grand ornaments.
A gallery renovated in 2019
The Apollo Gallery, whose historical collections are among the museum’s most valuable, underwent major renovations and refurbishments a few years ago. “A museographic renovation in 2019 involved the creation of three new display cases for the presentation of the Crown Diamonds, thus uniting them to offer a complete and historical overview of the museum’s collection,” states the museum’s website.
The regular enrichment of the collection since the 1990s has led the museum to display the Crown Jewels and precious stones in two separate locations in the Department of Decorative Arts: the Apollo Gallery and Room 550 on the first floor of the Richelieu Wing.
With this project, the Louvre Museum sought to restore historical coherence. The Apollo Gallery is, in fact, “the historic home of the Crown Diamond collection, founded in 1532 by Francis I, passed on and enriched from reign to reign despite the vicissitudes of history, but which, sadly, the museum regrets, was almost entirely sold by the State in 1887.”
