The Louvre Heist: Robbery with taste 

Article written by Deidre Prinsloo and Tessa Bauer-Savage (20.11.2025)

On Sunday, the 19th of October 2025, a robbery of the Louvre took place at 9:30 in the Galerie d’Apollon. Four men dressed as construction workers reached the balcony using a portable furniture elevator and cut a window using angle grinders. They triggered the alarm, and after threatening the guards with their tools, they stole a total of nine items. Succeedingly stealing the items, they attempted to set the truck they used to get to the window on fire, but having only limited time, they failed and fled on two motorcycles. The heist took a complete seven minutes, and only one of the items was recovered after being dropped during their escape. Due to their clever knowledge, the thieves ought to know what they were doing, as they had foreseen that the Louvre was only 25% camera-watched.  

WHICH TREASURES WERE STOLEN?

Exceptional Jewellery pieces belonging to the royal customs in the Napoleonic Era. These included: Empress Eugenie's diamond brooch, created in 1855 - 1864. The value $10.5 million, containing 2,438 brilliant cut and 196 rose cut diamonds set in a gold and silver line. It was originally designed by Francois Kramer, the official jeweller to Empress Eugenie. Therefore created for the Exposition universal in 1855, a huge world fair held on the Champs-Élysées in November, initially a girdle. It was eventually adapted in 1864 and turned into the fringe brooch. Another significant item belonging to Empress Eugenie was her magnificent Diadem, valued at $12 million. It was made by jeweller Alexandre Gabrielle Lemonetin Paris in 1853, featuring 212 natural pearls and 1,998 diamonds. After being sold with the French crown jewels in 1887, it passed through private collections before being acquired by the society "Amis de Louvre" in 1992. Furthermore,  the remarkable set gifted to Marie-Louise by her husband, Napoleon I, on their wedding day in 1810, was created by the Parisian jeweller Etienne Nitot et Fils. These contained an emerald and diamond necklace, a gold necklace with a large central emerald surrounded by 32 smaller emeralds and over 1,000 diamonds, paired with matching emerald earrings; the value in total was $102 million. They remained in the Habsburg family for over a century before being obtained by a private collector and eventually sold to the Louvre Museum. In addition, the phenomenal set of the sapphire Diadem, necklace and earrings of Queen Marie-Amelie and Hortense possession, made between 1800 and 1825, features 1,083 diamonds and 24 sapphires on the diadem. The necklace has 631 diamonds and 8 sapphires. While the earrings' specific gemstone counts have not been named. These were purchased by King Louis-Philippe in 1821, who had them remounted by an unknown jeweller. Lastly, one of the most famous items also in Empress Eugénie’s collection is the reliquary brooch, worth over $10 million. It is a diamond-encrusted jewel created by Paul-Alfred Bapst in 1855 and was bought by the Louvre in 1887. It is famous for featuring 94 diamonds, including two once used as leotard buttons by Louis XIV and two from the original Mazarin diamonds. The only singular item successfully found was The Crown of Empress Eugenie, valued at over $12 billion, including 1,354 diamonds. It was dropped through the thieves' swift fleet and found at the entrance of the Louvre, unfortunately damaged. 

ANY WITNESSES? 

A gallery attendant reported that she had suddenly heard a loud, metallic noise, and when she checked, two frightened tourists ran towards her. After seeing the criminals with a chainsaw, she immediately shouted to her colleagues to run and let them know the Louvre was being robbed. A herd had also run after the thieves, but they had already escaped on motorbikes. The vehicle that they wanted to set fire to, so as not to give too much evidence, by releasing the vehicle's fuel tank and using a blowtorch. Many other witnesses confirmed that four men raided two glass cases and later found out that they had stolen nine items.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Authorities have arrested multiple suspects, but the majority of the stolen jewels remain missing. Experts have had their opinions on the theft and suggest that the items will likely next be able to be sold for they are famous and they would be reported. Others believe these pieces could be dismantled or broken into smaller pieces to make them easier to sell and harder to trace. Most likely, the plan is to sell the smaller stones on the black market and melt down any metal components. The original, recognisable artefacts would be too famous to sell, so this process allows for untraceable profits. It has been confirmed that the Louvre needs to increase security so that it does not happen again.

OTHER SCANDALS IN THE PAST

There have been only a couple of scandals and robberies in the past. In 1911, the famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was exhibited. It was an inside theft at night. The former Italian Louvre worker, Vincenzo Peruggia, hid the painting under his smock and walked out of the museum. He kept it hidden in his apartment for two years, but was caught after trying to sell it to an art dealer, who alerted authorities. Other thefts in 1983 were the two Italian Renaissance pieces of armour that were recovered in 2021. 

Sources:

„Collier en émeraudes de la parure de Marie-Louise“. Musée Du Louvre, collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010113263. Accessed 20. November 2025.

The Wall Street Journal. „Louvre heist: How thieves stole ‘Priceless’ jewels in broad daylight | WSJ“. YouTube, 20. Oktober 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SASDkIQjouI. Accessed 20. November 2025.

Imperial Jewelry Eugenia Niarchos Important Jewels| VanCleef& Arpels|Historic Emeralds Tiara Diadem Marie-Louise Empress of France. royal-magazin.de/french/marie-louise-niarchos-emeralds-history.htm. Accessed 20. November 2025.

FRANCE 24 English. “Paris Louvre heist: Video shows jewel thieves escaping • FRANCE 24 English.” YouTube, 24 Oct. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Adz7ydeno. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

DD India. “Louvre Heist Explained: How Thieves Stole French Crown Jewels in 7 Minutes | Connecting the Dots.” YouTube, 24 Oct. 2025, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyHUBPg7kSE. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.