Louvre heist: Can broken diamonds and emeralds crown dropped outside Paris museum be restored?

The Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday (Oct 18) was struck with chaos after thieves robbed the world-renowned museum of its priceless French imperial jewels. What was left by them was a 19th-century crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III. The crown, which is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, was found near the museum, broken. The thieves managed to flee with eight other items with an estimated value of $102 million, including an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his wife, Empress Marie Louise

Can the crown be restored?

The director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, said on Wednesday (Oct 22) that the initial assessment of the crown suggests that it could be restored.

“Initial assessments suggest that a delicate restoration is possible,” Laurence des Cars said. She added that the piece was likely damaged not by the fall but by the robbers when they were trying to extract it from the small opening in its display case.

It was “crushed when being taken out of the display case”, she said. Following a 2014 study, new ultra-resistant “high-end jewellery showcases” were ordered to house the crown jewels in the Apollo Gallery, des Cars said.

“The glass was not broken. It was split and the thieves managed to pass their hands through, but the glass held firm,” she added.

‘We failed’

Des Cars admitted that there was inadequate security camera coverage of the outside walls of the museum.

“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed,” des Cars told lawmakers in her first public statement since the robbery. She added that while all alarms had functioned during the heist, security cameras did not adequately cover the thieves’ point of entry.

“The only camera installed is directed westward and therefore did not cover the balcony involved in the break-in,” she said. “There are some perimeter cameras, but they are ageing.” Surveillance of the museum’s outside walls “is highly insufficient.”

Des Cars said she had tendered her resignation following the theft on Sunday, but the culture ministry had refused it.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered to speed up security measures at the Louvre after its reopening three days after the brazen heist that took place in broad daylight.