It sounds like a film. Thieves in workmen's clothes, industrial disc-cutters, the most famous museum in the world, in broad daylight. Except this one had no happy ending. At least not yet.
What happened
On 19 October 2025, the gang cut their way into the Louvre and escaped with eight historic pieces, worth an estimated $100 million. Among them were a brooch and a crown that belonged to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. President Emmanuel Macron called it an attack on France's history.
The arrests
Police moved fast. All four main suspects were arrested within 10 days and are in custody awaiting trial. Nothing proven in court yet. A team of about 100 investigators searched homes, relatives' homes, cellars, garages and attics. They found nothing.
The last time cameras saw the jewels was in an underground storage unit in Aubervilliers, a suburb north of Paris.
So where are they?
Experts have theories. One is that the jewels were broken up and the stones recut, which makes them almost impossible to trace. Dutch art detective Arthur Brand points to Antwerp, the diamond capital. Other experts name Tel Aviv or India. Some think the pieces may still be hidden, maybe in a wall.
Brand still has hope: "You only need one to talk, and in many cases, one talks."
Don't give up
Interpol still lists the jewels as missing. Its art experts say stolen treasures can turn up anywhere from three months to 40 years later. So Empress Eugénie's crown may be back one day. Fashionably late, like any royal.