Salaam - Jewels Stolen from the Louvre: What Was Taken and Why It Matters
As-salamu alaykum. The bold daytime theft of crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris on Sunday has shocked many and raised big questions about security.
Eight items were taken from the Galerie d’Apollon, a hall dating back to Louis XIV (1661) that later inspired the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. The thieves used a cherry picker and cutting tools to get into the room during visiting hours and stole eight 19th-century pieces within minutes.
The missing items are steeped in history and were once owned or worn by French royalty, such as Queen Hortense and Queen Marie-Amelie. Among the pieces taken was an emerald necklace reportedly given by Napoleon I to his second wife, Marie-Louise, for their 1810 wedding - it had 32 emeralds alongside over a thousand brilliant-cut diamonds. A pair of matching earrings from that set was also taken.
Also taken: a sapphire tiara with 24 Ceylon sapphires among more than a thousand diamonds, once linked to Queen Marie-Amelie; matching pieces from that set (a necklace and one earring) are missing. A Second Empire tiara worn by Empress Eugenie, set with hundreds of pearls and nearly 3,000 diamonds in total, was also reported stolen. Other pieces include a diamond bow belt ornament with tassels and over 2,400 diamonds and a white diamond reliquary brooch from 1855.
For historians and those who care about cultural heritage, the loss is much more than monetary. Many royal jewels were lost after the French Revolution, and the collection that survived was largely put together under Napoleon and his successors. These items are rare glimpses of a past era of ceremony and craftsmanship. Experts fear the worst: that the treasures could be broken up, gold melted, and the gemstones sold off - some like Ceylon sapphires are from mines long exhausted, making them hard to replace.
There was one small hopeful sign: a crown belonging to Empress Eugenie was found near the museum, apparently dropped during the thieves’ escape. The diadem, decorated with 56 emeralds and over 1,300 diamonds and showing Napoleonic eagles, is being checked for damage.
The incident has unsettled museum staff, curators and the wider public. The Louvre called the pieces “a precious testimony to Parisian jewellery,” and many are worried these irreplaceable works of history may be lost forever.
May Allah protect our heritage and guide those responsible to return what was taken. Wa assalam.
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