Editor’s Note
This article describes a major theft of priceless jewels from the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery. While the details of the heist are compelling, we have chosen to omit specific, detailed descriptions of the stolen items to avoid inadvertently providing a catalogue for illicit markets. Our focus remains on the cultural loss and the investigation.
/2026/02/04/shuffle-minia-69838138be4a4115228724.jpg)
Eight pieces of priceless heritage value were stolen on Sunday from the world’s most famous museum.
A necklace composed of eight Ceylon sapphires and 631 diamonds, another set with 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds, a tiara with a total of 212 pearls and 1,998 diamonds… The eight jewels stolen from the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre Museum during a spectacular heist on Sunday, October 19, are of
, as emphasized by the Ministry of Culture. While dozens of investigators are on the trail of the four men who escaped with this historic loot, a major question arises: how can these pieces be resold by their thieves?
According to our information, investigators from the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry (BRB), supported by those from the Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC), are working on two leads, primarily within organized crime: that of a sponsor wishing to recover these jewels and that of individuals seeking to obtain
, as noted by the Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau.
/2026/02/04/sipa-sipausa30528998-000008-6983af7274b3e421287916.jpg)
In the first hypothesis, it could involve
, suggests General Jacques Morel of the Gendarmerie, security referent for the French Union of Jewelry, Fine Jewelry, and Silversmithing. The former head of the Versailles research section also does not rule out a
.
However, the lead of foreign interference is not favored at this stage, the Paris prosecutor’s office has indicated. The modus operandi, however, raises questions.
, a police source confided to franceinfo, suggesting the thieves knew what they came to find in this gallery.
This is what is feared in this case: that the jewels will be dismantled to be more easily fenced. The gold pieces, for example, can be melted down into ingots, which are undetectable.
, observes a police source. Especially since gold, the ultimate safe-haven asset, is currently at an all-time high, over €3,500 per ounce (approximately 30 grams).
/2026/02/04/vignette-apercu-1-sanary-clean-6983b6696ee9b110817930.jpg)
As for the precious stones, pearls, and diamonds, they can be extracted to be resold retail.
, worries Alexandre Giquello, president of the Drouot auction house and auctioneer, to France Télévisions.
, estimates Alexandre Giquello.
, a Belgian diamond dealer concurs to *Le Parisien*.
, one of his colleagues adds.
/2026/02/04/260203-ia-reseaux-shuffle-69836a5c5720f345518313.jpg)
, prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced on RTL on Tuesday, specifying that the criminals
this sum
.