The Louvre exhibits the primary photographs of Empress Eugenie’s crown because it was broken through the theft on the museum | Culture | EUROtoday

The Louvre Museum printed yesterday, Thursday, the primary photographs of Empress Eugenie’s crown, because it suffered crushing injury and important deformation through the “brutal” jewel theft of October 19, 2025. The photos present that the piece preserved its “almost complete integrity”, which can permit its full restoration, because the gallery itself introduced on Wednesday.

It was, particularly, the principle conclusion of the preliminary report ready by the director and deputy director of the Louvre’s Decorative Arts division, Olivier Gabet and Anne Dion, the museum mentioned in an announcement, by which it particulars the injury suffered by the “iconic piece” that the thieves left behind of their escape with eight different jewels, whose whereabouts are nonetheless unknown.

The restoration of the crown of Empress Eugenie might be entrusted to an accredited conservator, following a young course of, in accordance with the Heritage Code, the Museum Law and the Public Procurement Code, the most important and most visited museum on this planet laid out in its word. As a part of this course of, technical and extra detailed studies on the state of conservation might be ready, he added. Gabet assured that they have no idea how a lot the operation will price, though his first estimate is round 40,000 euros, in line with the e-American newspaper. The New York Times.

Given the “symbolic and unprecedented” nature of such a restoration, and the “remarkable specificity” of the thing to be restored, the mission of the chosen conservator might be supported by the creation of an knowledgeable advisory committee. Chaired by the director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, it will likely be made up of Gabet and Dion, in addition to a jewellery historian; a curator accountable for the ornamental arts of the Second Empire on the Musée d’Orsay, a mineralogist and an knowledgeable in historic metals, who might be joined by a consultant from every of the 5 historic French jewellery homes (Mellerio, Chaumet, Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels).

Recovered on the road, on the foot of the Apollo Gallery, the place the thieves carried out the theft, the crown of Empress Eugenie survived the “brutal” blow suffered within the Louvre Museum and remained within the possession of the judicial police for a day for investigation functions. A palmette fragment was discovered close to the show case by which it was displayed and which the thieves broke.

The crown, whose mount is versatile and light-weight, suffered deformation, most likely initially as a result of stress it endured when being faraway from the show case via a comparatively slim opening made with an angle grinder, the Louvre mentioned. This pressure induced the rings of the crown to detach, considered one of which had already been misplaced within the gallery. A violent affect later possible crushed the piece, in line with the report. The crown initially featured eight palmettes of diamonds and emeralds, alternating with eight gold eagles. Currently, solely one of many eagles is lacking. All the palmettes are current, though 4 have turn into indifferent from the setting, a few of them deformed. The diamond and emerald globe is unbroken and nonetheless connected to the crown body.

Originally composed of 56 emeralds, the crown nonetheless retains all of them. Of the 1,354 diamonds, solely about 10, very small ones, that adorn the perimeter of the bottom, are lacking, and 9 have turn into indifferent however have been preserved, the museum mentioned. Its full restoration might be potential with out the necessity for reconstruction or recreation. “It will simply involve remodeling its framework,” the Louvre mentioned. It was Napoleon III who commissioned Empress Eugenie’s crown from the emperor’s official jeweler, Alexandre Gabriel Lemonnier, who was accountable for creating two, one for the emperor and one other for his spouse, in an effort to present them off on the Universal Exhibition of 1855.