BRAZEN LOUVRE ROBBERY LEAD TO $102 MILLION IN JEWELS LOSS

Over the weekend, $102 million worth of valuable jewels were taken from the Louvre Museum in Paris, which sounds like something from a heist movie but is sadly real. The eight pieces, which included jewelry Napoleon gave to his second wife at their wedding, were removed in broad daylight from the museum's Apollo Gallery and were part of the French crown treasures.

After parking a vehicle close to the museum's facade, which faces the Seine River, the robbers gained entry. They used an angle grinder to force open the window after raising a basket hoist to the museum's top level while disguised as employees. This made it possible for multiple individuals to break into and destroy the display cases containing the priceless jewelry. The heist lasted roughly seven minutes and happened only thirty minutes after the museum opened. Guards were informed of the problem by alarms, but they were unable to apprehend the robbers, who took to motorcycles to escape. The crown of Empress Eugénie, Napoleon III's wife, was the eighth item they dropped during their escape, which was the only solace. It was discovered fractured and included 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.

Among the items are Empress Eugénie's tiara, which is adorned with 212 pearls and about 3,000 diamonds, as well as her sparkling bow and brooch that are decorated with diamonds. A sapphire and diamond necklace and tiara set worn by two queens in the 19th century was also stolen. Additionally, one of the pair of earrings from the set was stolen. The last items taken in the theft were an emerald and diamond necklace and matching earrings that Napoleon gave to his second wife, Marie Louise, as wedding presents.

The chances of recovering the valuable objects are decreasing, even though 60 investigators have been assigned to the case and the items have been listed on INTERPOL's Stolen Works of Art database. Given that a significant amount of DNA was found at the scene, experts think there's a good chance the burglars will be apprehended. The fact that a museum guard prevented the robbers from burning the car they used to enter the museum is largely to blame for this.

However, the crown jewels are unlikely to be discovered because they are likely to be disassembled and sold illegally. The French government is left to pick up the pieces and respond to inquiries about how the jewelry was so freely accessible to the criminals. There are serious security worries because the Paris Museum of Natural History had gold nuggets stolen by criminals last month.

Naturally, this is not the first high-profile theft to occur at the Louvre. The most well-known example is the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa, which was not found for almost three years until being found.