"The Empire After the Blow": The Louvre Wants to "Resurrect" Empress Eugénie's Crown After a Daring Robbery

Despite the damage, experts call the relic "almost intact" and are confident that its historical appearance can be restored.

According to the museum, the crown was damaged when thieves attempted to force it through a narrow opening in the shattered display case of the Apollo Gallery; some decorative elements broke off, one of the golden eagles and several precious inlays were lost. However, the imperial relic itself, created by order of Napoleon III in 1855 and purchased by the Louvre in the late 20th century, retained nearly all of its emeralds and diamonds.

During the raid, the criminals took eight pieces of jewelry, causing total damage of approximately 88 million euros, but they dropped and abandoned a crown belonging to the wife of Napoleon III while fleeing. Currently, a special expert committee is being formed to restore it, and an accredited restorer will be selected through a competition; the cost of the work is preliminarily estimated at tens of thousands of euros.