“The crown lost about ten small diamonds and part of the gold trim.”, — write: www.unian.ua
The state of the crown before and after the robbery was shown in the Louvre / photo by Thomas Clot Musée du LouvreThis week, the Louvre Museum released photos showing the current state of Empress Eugenie’s crown, which miraculously was not stolen by thieves. The crown was shown before the start of renovations, which the museum hopes will restore it to its former glory, CNN writes.
The crown was shown for the first time 100 days after it fell in an attempted robbery. The robbers of the Louvre tried to steal it along with other jewels, but during the escape, the crown slipped from their hands and fell from a height onto the pavement.
This headdress was made in 1855 by order of Napoleon III for Empress Eugenie de Montijou. It is among a rare collection of French crown jewels still in the country after most of them were looted during the French Revolution that began in 1789. Most of what remained was auctioned off by the French state in the wake of republican sentiment almost a century later.
The outfit was never used for a coronation. But it became a symbol of imperial power before entering the Louvre collection in 1988. For decades, the crown has impressed millions of visitors. It has 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds alternating with eight palmettes and majestic golden eagles.
Due to the fall, one eagle disappeared, and half of the palm trees were torn off – some of them deformed.
According to the Louvre’s report, experts believe the crown’s flexible mounting was damaged when thieves ripped it from display through a narrow gap cut with an angle grinder.
“This strain led to the detachment of the rings of the crown, one of which has already been lost in the gallery,” the museum’s report says.
The subsequent impact, when the piece fell to the ground, likely crushed the delicate decoration, they added.
Although the crown was deformed, almost every component was preserved. According to experts, this allows for a “full restoration” without reconstruction or reproduction. The renovation will include changing the shape of its frame.
The crown retained all 56 emeralds. And of the 1,354 diamonds, only about ten small ones are missing, located around the perimeter of the base. Another nine were separated, but they were found.
The Louvre has announced that it will soon invite restorers to submit proposals for repairing the crown as part of a competitive process overseen by a newly formed committee of experts. According to museum officials, after the October robbery, he received offers to help restore the crown from prestigious jewelry houses Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mellerio, Chaumet and Boucheron.
What is known about the stolen jewelsIn total, the robbers managed to take eight valuable pieces of jewelry from the Louvre. These are tiaras, necklaces and earrings that once belonged to French queens and Empress Eugenie.
The stolen tiara belonged to the jewelry collection of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense. The robbers also stole a necklace and earrings from a sapphire jewelry set belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense.
Detention of thieves of Louvre jewelsWe will remind that several participants of the high-profile robbery have already been detained. Some of them were detained in line for a football match.
One of these suspects is a 38-year-old woman. In court, she cried and said she feared for her life and the lives of her children, with whom she lives in a suburb in the north of Paris. Most of the suspects are “petty criminals”. At the same time, the stolen jewels, the value of which is estimated at 88 million euros, have not yet been found.
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