Louvre says crown crushed throughout heist might be restored | EUROtoday

One of the one surviving French sovereign crowns, discovered mangled on the ground of the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery after thieves smashed their means into its show case throughout an audacious heist final yr, might be restored, the museum has mentioned.

The crown of Empress Eugénie, the spouse of Napoleon III, was discovered crushed and badly deformed, whereas a fraction together with a diamond‑and‑emerald lay close by.

The museum mentioned among the deformation was in all probability because of the stress it skilled throughout its elimination from the show case by way of the comparatively slender slot made by the thieves’ angle grinder, including that then “a violent impact” crushed the crown.

Nonetheless, the crown survived and Louvre specialists say virtually all of its authentic parts stay intact, making a full restoration doable.

open picture in gallery

The injury occurred throughout the heist on 19 October 2025, by which thieves broke into the world’s most visited museum in broad daylight and used energy instruments to steal eight objects of jewelry earlier than escaping on scooters.

Among the stolen objects had been tiaras, a brooch, an emerald necklace and earrings, which, between them, are encrusted with 1000’s of diamonds price round €88m (£76m).

Prosecutors say the thieves had been contained in the Louvre for lower than 4 minutes earlier than they made their getaway.

Four males have been arrested on suspicion of finishing up the raid, however investigators imagine the organiser of the heist stays at massive.

The day after the theft, the judicial police handed the recovered crown to the Louvre’s Department of Decorative Arts.

While many of the broken crown was nonetheless in a single piece, one hoop was torn off and misplaced, of the eight diamond‑and‑emerald palmettes and eight gold eagles that ring the crown, one eagle is lacking, whereas 4 palmettes had turn into indifferent however had been recovered.

open picture in gallery

The crew mentioned the emerald‑and‑diamond globe on the prime stays intact, and all 56 emeralds survived.

Ten of the crown’s 1,354 diamonds – all tiny stones on the base – are lacking, with 9 extra indifferent however preserved.

Given the crown’s symbolic significance and the unprecedented nature of the restore, the Louvre will appoint an accredited restorer by way of a aggressive course of – to adjust to the legislation – the museum mentioned.

An advisory committee of specialists will oversee the work, chaired by Louvre president‑director Laurence des Cars.

open picture in gallery

Commissioned by Napoleon III for the 1855 Universal Exhibition, Empress Eugénie’s crown was crafted by the imperial jeweler Alexandre Gabriel Lemonnier, with sculptor Gilbert designing the lengthy‑winged eagles and jeweler Pierre Maheu overseeing the workshop.

After the autumn of the Empire, the crown was returned to Eugénie in 1875 – a coincidence that saved it from the mass sale of crown jewels ordered by the Third Republic in 1887. Passed down by way of the Bonaparte household, it was acquired by the Louvre in 1988.

Though by no means utilized in a coronation, it’s certainly one of solely three sovereign crowns preserved in France, alongside the crown of Louis XV and the so‑referred to as crown of Charlemagne made for Napoleon I.