Empress Eugénie crown damaged in Louvre heist to be restored
Thieves attempted to steal the crown during the October heist but dropped it at the foot of the museum’s Apollo Gallery in their escape.
Law and Crime
Restoration work has begun on Empress Eugénie's crown, which was damaged during the Louvre Museum heist in October, officials said Wednesday.
Thieves had attempted to steal the crown when they made off with more than $100 million in Napoleonic jewels but dropped it at the foot of the museum’s Apollo Gallery in their escape.
“Although the crown was crushed and significantly deformed, it remained largely intact, allowing for its complete restoration,” the museum said in a news release.
The crown was recovered by the judicial police following the theft on October 19 and briefly retained as part of the investigation before being turned over to the Department of Art Objects the next day.
Olivier Gabet, the department’s director, then conducted an initial condition assessment with deputy director Anne Dion, who oversees that section of the collection.
In their assessment, Gabet and Dion noted that the crown’s flexible and lightweight frame had been deformed, likely from the moment the thieves removed it from its display case through a narrow slit made by an angle grinder.
“This stress caused the crown's arches to become detached, one of which was already lost in the gallery. Subsequently, a violent impact most likely caused the crown to be crushed,” the museum said.
The Louvre noted that the crown bears 56 emeralds, all of which remain intact, and 1,354, with about ten very small ones decorating the rim of the base missing. Nine other diamonds fell off the crown but have been preserved.
The crown also featured eight diamond and emerald palmettes, alternating with eight gold eagles. After the theft, only one of the eagles is missing—though four of the palmettes have become detached from the setting.
“It will therefore be possible to restore it completely without resorting to reconstruction or restoration,” the museum said. “This will involve reshaping its frame.”
The Louvre said that the restoration would be entrusted to a certified restorer after a competitive bidding process, in compliance with French law. During this process, more detailed and technical condition reports will be drawn up, the museum said.
An advisory panel of six people, chaired by the Louvre Museum’s president and director, Laurence des Cars, will provide oversight of the chosen restorer.
The panel will include Gabet and Dion, along with jewelry historian Michèle Heuzé, Musée d'Orsay curator Anaïs Alchus, National Museum of Natural History mineralogist François Farges, and Emmanuel Plé, head of the historical metals workshop at the C2RMF.
Four more suspects arrested in Louvre heist, prosecutors say
Those arrests come in addition to the four people who have already been charged in the case.
Adam Schrader
Last month, the Louvre Museum added bars to the window through which the thieves had entered.
France’s national police have also kept a heightened presence in the area since the theft and officials said that, in 2026, the museum would also add 100 new security cameras around its perimeter as part of a recently approved $92 million security master plan that will be implemented in phases.
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