On Oct. 19, on what started as a typical day in Paris, ended very unusually when the Galerie d’Apollon of the Louvre was robbed. The robbery occurred during regular operating hours and only lasted a couple of minutes.
The Breakdown
On Sunday morning, about thirty minutes after the Louvre opened, the thieves began their robbery. The thieves were dressed and disguised as workers. They entered on the south side of the building, with the help of a mechanical ladder attached to a truck. Two of the four robbers entered the building by climbing the ladder and smashing a hole into the window with power tools and drills. After drilling through the window, the thieves were in the Apollo Gallery within the Louvre. The Apollo Gallery is home to the majority of the Louvre’s royal gems, jewels and important paintings like the Mona Lisa. Two of the cases within the Apollo Gallery were sawn into. The robbers left four minutes after entering, bringing with them eight pieces from the chambers of the Apollo Gallery. They left down the same ladder and quickly fled the crime scene.
What Was Taken
The thieves successfully brought with them seven pieces from the Louvre. A diamond tiara and pearl baroche are two of the missing items. The tiara itself is made up of 212 pearls, 1,999 diamonds and 992 rose-cut stones. Next, a sapphire jewelry set was taken. The set consists of a necklace, a tiara and a single earring. An emerald necklace and earrings were also stolen. This set was gifted to Marie-Louise of Austria, Napoleon’s second wife. A diamond and gold brooch known as the “reliquary brooch” was also taken from the exhibit. Lastly, a royal crown was originally taken during the heist, but was dropped and left behind by the robbers.
Current Updates
While the city of Paris has hundreds of officers actively searching, the robbers have still not been identified. There are about 100 investigators working to look for the stolen jewels. Currently, people are worried that the thieves will melt the jewels down to sell, so officials are working as fast as they can to retrieve the missing jewels. While the Apollo room remains closed until investigators identify more clues in the case, the rest of the Louvre has reopened to the public. Since the robbery, Paris officials have come out and said that an estimated $102 million worth of jewels were stolen during the heist. Separate from the economic value, the pieces hold a lot of historic and sentimental value, especially to the citizens of France.
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