The Louvre Raid: History Repeats Itself

History repeats itself. The dramatic heist at the Louvre last week was not the first time thieves broke into the museum's Apollo Gallery, smashed a display case and made off with a priceless royal treasure.

It happened in December 1976. Raiders escaped with the diamond-studded sword that was used at the coronation of King Charles X in 1824.

The sword has never been recovered. The chances are that it was broken apart within days, that the diamonds were re-cut and sold on and that any precious metals were melted down. Either that, or it's now stashed away in the safe of a wealthy (and very secretive) collector.

Ditto the French crown jewels that were on display at the same gallery in the Louvre - until last Sunday morning (19 October). Similar theft and in all probability, same fate.

"They stole items that can be easily taken apart, melted down, recut, and sold on the legitimate market with it being very difficult to trace them," said Erin Thompson professor of art crime at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in New York City.

The eight items that were stolen - tiaras, brooches, necklaces and earrings that once belonged to the imperial families of Napoleon I, Napoleon III, and various French queens, have been valued by the public prosecutor at $102m - and are simply too hot to handle.

Experts believe that by now they will probably have been dismantled into their components - around 7,000 individual diamonds all told, plus emeralds, sapphires, pearls and other precious gems.

The stones will be re-cut and sold on the black market for a fraction of their "real" value.

The value of such iconic pieces is far beyond the sum of their ingredients. Take for example, the ornate pearl tiara (pictured below) commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III to celebrate his marriage to Empress Eugenie in 1853.

It sold at Sotheby's Geneva in November 1992 for CHF 3.7m - about USD 2.8m at the time, around USD 6.3m at today's prices.

Forget the beauty, the exquisite craftsmanship of court jeweler Gabriel Lemonnier, the history, the cultural significance and the sense of national loss.

It's likely the tiara is now little more than a bag of pearls and a handful of melee.

The 1,998 tiny diamonds - mostly F to G color, VVS1 to VS1 clarity, weighed 63.3 carats in total.

There were also 212 pearls, some large, some pear-shaped, some exceptionally rare. But their value was by virtue of being part of an historic artifact, not as individual pearls. Unlike diamonds, pearls can't be disguised by being re-cut.

The frame of the tiara is silver, with some gold leaf, so that's not going to make anyone a fortune. 

The crime is far more than the act of snatching France's national treasures. It is an act of sacrilege - the destruction of those treasures.

French President Emmanuel Macron described it as "an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history".

The Louvre was the victim of another theft in 1911 when the Mona Lisa was stolen. It was recovered, intact, two years later.

Unlike the crown jewels, an artwork can't be dismantled. The paint, the used canvas and the wooden frame would be worthless.

Little more than a mile away from the Louvre, in April 2019, the Notre-Dame cathedral suffered a devastating fire. Within five years the roof and the iconic spire and been rebuilt.

But the loss of the French crown jewels can't be "fixed". If they're gone, they're gone forever.

Have a fabulous weekend.