FRANCE, Paris, Robbery at the Louve, Oct 19, 2025

[PrairieWind]

Des Cars is the director of the museum as I understand. Is she in charge of security of is there director of security? It makes sense that the Louvre director is a museum/art person. Security is not their specialty and would thus have someone in charge of that. That is the person who we need to hear from, unless Des Cars over-rode security decisions. I see there is now discussion of "security cuts. There were guards but they were apparently driven away by the thieves with saws. That is just inexplicable.

 

[Charlot123]

.

My guess is
it was commissioned by a weird/mad collector
fixated on these particular items
(for whatever reason).

The criminals waited for the specific moment in time,
when security was at its lowest and some repairs were being conducted adding to chaos.

It indicates IMO!!!
there is a possible "associate" within the Museum itself or the builders.

But it gives me hope,
the Jewels will be recovered
(as the brazen perps seem to be sloppy)
and put into their Museum place
to be admired again

I will visit Louvre one day
to look specifically at them

JMO

Collectors could be fixated and collectors can keep the items in their storage and never show to everyone. However, however…

The collectors who could have ordered the heist could well have the money to buy such items. Eugenia’s tiara with pearls was in the possession of the House of Thurn and Taxis and in 1998 it was sold back to France at an auction.

Exile, a royal wedding present and German aristocrats: The fascinating history of Empress Eugenie's tiara after it was stolen from the Louvre

Commissioned by Napoléon III for his wife Eugenie, this tiara was worn by punk Princess Gloria TNT on her wedding day

www.tatler.com

So, there are still old auction booklets, brochures, online info, prices. Haven’t we looked at Christie’s or Sotheby’s auctions? The tiara is beautiful, but each year similar splendid jewels are sold by the auction houses.

I have a strange feeling that the collector who could pay for the heist could have afforded buying a similar item at the auction. Why risk? They are probably people of reputation.

Of course, there are not-too-honest antiques dealers. But for a dealer to organize a robbery without a buyer makes no sense.

At the same time, the buyer can afford purchasing similar item at an auction house as something constantly pops up… More unique items, the Regence and the Sancy diamonds, were left. OK, maybe the Regent diamond is cursed (although I would be surprised if the jewelry robbers were superstitious). But the Sancy one? They are one-of-a-kind.

My mind is going in circles here. What am I missing? Something doesn’t make sense. A stupid moneyed up daughter of a magnate might order it, but such ladies would be monitored by the parents, I presume.

 

[Dotta]

"Museum heists have changed. ​

Why the Louvre robbery is a worrying escalation.​

Beyond its seemingly cinematic plot,
the robbery was a clear example
of how thieves have started targeting cultural institutions
not necessarily for their prized paintings,
but for artifacts that can be dismantled, stripped or melted down for their expensive parts.

'What we’ve definitely seen in the last five to seven years
is some more shift towards raw materials theft',
explained the secretary of the International Counsel of Museum Security,
part of the International Counsel of Museums,
whose experts keep information flowing across the European museum sector on security threats and best practices to safeguard institutions.

The move, he says,
has been away from stealing art for its cultural value.

Works by Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian or Willem de Kooning can resurface years, or decades, later.

But experts say
jewelry, coins or medals, meanwhile,
are at risk of being lost forever
— and quickly."

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/20/style/france-louvre-heist-worrying-escalation-intl-hnk

 

[littlefish]

Personally pleased the museum guards weren’t armed - if they were known to be, the thieves may have brought more than an angle grinder and we may be reading about loss of life as well as gem.

I’m also team NotMeltedDown. Robbing the louvre?? Asking for the world’s attention. I’ve seen 75,000 memes about those gems today. Stealing them so flagrantly surely adds them to the pop culture lexicon and adds some zeros to the price tag. What would some eccentric billionaires pay to own an item from the famous 2025 louvre heist?? Wishful thinking, anyway.

 

[Lucy6226]

My hunch is they either were stolen for an underground collector or they were stolen to hold as ransom. I hold either motive as equally possible.

I do not think the items will be melted down.

jmopinion

Agree. It wasn't a smash and grab scenario. This was very specific, they knew exactly which items they were taking. Moo

 

[Inthedetails]

The only camera monitoring the exterior wall of the Louvre where they broke in was pointing away from the first-floor balcony that led to Gallery of Apollo housing the jewels, she said.

Louvre failed to spot jewel thieves early enough, says museum boss

Laurence des Cars said there was only one camera pointing on the gallery which was robbed.

www.bbc.com