Audacious robbery of the Louvre: what valuables were stolen by intruders

On Sunday, October 19, in Paris, several intruders broke into the Louvre and stole several precious jewelry. Among the stolen items is the famous tiara from the parure of Queen Hydrangea. In total, the robbers smashed two storefronts of the museum and stole 9 items. For more information about the stolen jewelry— see the Izvestia article.

The Tiara of Empress Eugenie

In 1853, shortly after the marriage of Eugenie Montijo (the future Empress of France) and Napoleon III, an entire tiara was created in Paris as a symbol of the new imperial union. The jewelry is made of gilded silver, decorated with 212 pearls and almost 2 thousand diamonds, as well as 992 rose-cut diamonds.

The tiara was commissioned by Napoleon III as a wedding gift to his wife and was formed using stones previously owned by the Crown of France.

In the portrait of Eugenia painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, she is depicted with this particular tiara shortly after the wedding.

After the fall of the Second Empire and the exile of the Empress, the diadem became the property of the French state. In 1887, it was put up for auction as part of the royal jewels, and then passed to the Germans in the House of Turn-und-Taxis.

Empress Eugenie's Reliquary Brooch

In 1855, Paul Alfred became a jeweler. Bapst (Paul-Alfred Bapst) created a serious jewel — a brooch in the form of a "reliquary" for Empress Eugenie.

Gold and diamonds form the basis of the jewelry, in the center are two large tapeworms from the Mazarin diamonds collection, stones with a rich history, handed over to the crown of France back in the 17th century.

Although the name "reliquary" (keeper of the relic) hints at a religious context, no actual place for the relics in the brooch has been found. This is a stylistic reference that emphasizes the importance of jewelry as a "sacred" object of the empire.

Large bow for the bodice of Empress Eugenie

One of the most ambitious jewelry transformations of the Second Empire is the bow brooch designed for the bodice of Empress Eugenie. Originally, around 1855, by the jeweler Francois Kramer created a belt decorated with more than 4 thousand diamonds, which the Empress wore on August 25, 1855 in Versailles at a reception in honor of the visit of Queen Victoria of England.

Around 1864, the belt was converted into a bow brooch with two long tassels: the jewelry contains 2,438 diamonds and 196 rose-cut stones.

This bow brooch symbolizes both the fashion and luxury of its time (on the dresses of the highest palace of the Second Empire, a belt just under the chest was considered mandatory), and the adaptability of jewelry art — the decorative element changed shape and function. This brooch was among the collection of the crown, exhibited and then sold by the French Republic in 1887, subsequently re-acquired by the museum.

Queen Hydrangea Parure Tiara

In the first third of the 19th century, presumably between 1801 and 1835, a sapphire parure (a group of jewelry) was created for the queen. Hydrangeas Beauharnais (Hortense de Beauharnais), daughter of Empress Josephine and Queen of Holland.

The tiara of this parure is decorated with 24 sapphires (10 small and 14 large) and 1,083 diamonds. Sapphires are naturally colored, from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

The history of the parure is complicated: the decoration then passed to Queen Maria Amalia, and later to Isabella of Orleans.

The appearance of such a parure reflects the trend of European courts: sapphire is a prestigious, exotic stone from distant colonial countries. The combination of sapphires and diamonds maximized the visual and symbolic impact in the evening courts and official portraits.

Queen Hydrangea Parure Necklace

Continuing the theme of the Queen Hydrangea parure, the necklace of this group consists of eight movably fixed sapphires of different sizes and 631 diamonds. Sources mark this part of the set as a separate piece of jewelry.

The necklace emphasized the status of the owner. Large sapphires are a symbol of wealth, and the mobility of the fasteners gave the necklace lightness and shine when moving. The high level of diamond accompaniment enhanced the effect of luxury.

As part of the parure, this element could be combined with a tiara and earrings, forming a complete "costume of precious stones", as was customary in the highest circles of the European aristocracy of the early 19th century.

Queen Hydrangea Parure Earring

As part of the same Queen Hydrangea sapphire necklace, one earring (one of the pair) consists of two sapphires (one round, the other teardrop-shaped) and 59 diamonds.

Earrings of this type were a mandatory attribute of evening wear: large central stones (sapphires) provided an accent, and numerous small diamonds provided a play of candlelight. Since the earrings are a "pair", they balanced the symmetry of the wearer's outfit.

Earrings made of parure also served as a sign of belonging to a certain set of jewelry: the owner, wearing the set, demonstrated her position, taste, and compliance with the fashion of the court.

Empress Marie-Louise Parure Necklace

In March 1810, the jeweler Francois‑Renault Nito commissioned Napoleon to make an emerald set for his bride, the Austrian Archduchess Maria Louise of Austria. The set included a tiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings and a hair comb.

The necklace consists of 32 emeralds (including 10 pear—shaped ones) and 1,138 diamonds, of which 874 are diamond-cut and 264 are rose-cut. The oval-shaped central emerald, weighing 13.75 carats, has an octagonal cut. Sources note that this parure was the personal property of the Empress, not the crown. The set remained the personal property of the Empress, which distinguishes it from most of the royal jewels that have passed into the state treasury.

A pair of earrings from the Empress Marie-Louise parure

The same emerald parure of Empress Marie Louise contains a pair of earrings, including six emeralds, two of which are pear-shaped (weighing approximately 45.20 carats) and 108 diamonds.

Earrings of this scale and complexity emphasized not only the status, but also the aesthetic idea of the end of the era — jewelry art was moving from the neoclassical to the spirit of romanticism, and jewelry houses such as Nitot operated under the personal order of the imperial court.