The museum world has been stunned by the theft of around £80 million-worth of jewellery from the Louvre in Paris.
Thieves used power tools and a powered lift to gain access to the museum in broad daylight.
They took eight items – dropping an Empress’s crown – of Napoleonic, French royal and Napoleon III-era crown jewellery.
What will happen to the jewels now?
Whatever the estimate released by the French authorities, the jewels are priceless and irreplaceable in their current form.
In their raw state, as precious metal and stone, they have considerable but much diminished value.
And, as they are, they are worthless because they are unsaleable.
A tiara from the sapphire set of Queen Maria Amalia and Queen Hortense was stolen. Don’t buy this item if you see it in your local car-boot sale.
This has led to speculation that the items may have been stolen to order.
If they were, it would be for a collector who is willing to never publicly reveal they own some of the finest jewellery in the world.
While, the idea that valuable artworks and antiques are stolen to order is regularly floated, it is unlikely that it happens with any regularity.
Perhaps the most plausible potential example of such a theft is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist of 1990.
Thirteen works were taken from the Boston museum with a value of around $500 million.
The FBI say the theft was the work of organised crime, possibly warring local Mafia clans.
They believe that the paintings, including a Vermeer worth $250 million, may have been offered for sale in Philadelphia.
A Caravaggio taken from a Palermo church in 1969 may also have been stolen to order, possibly by the Mafia, and has never been found.
Another possibility is that the Louvre-Heist items will be offered back to the French state for a ransom.
In 1994, Edvard Munch’s The Scream was stolen in Norway. The thieves subsequently demanded a £1-million payment to return the work, which could not be sold.
They were caught in a sting operation.
Another theory that attempts to explain the Louvre robbery is that it is now simply easier to take from state institutions – hit by budget cuts – than from rich individuals and the businesses they frequent, which have considerably improved their security set-ups in recent years.
The theft has now become a major political story in France, and at least 60 specialist law-enforcement officers are on the case.
It is unlikely that any collector will be offered the Duchess of Palma’s emerald earrings on the cheap, but if you are you should contact your local police.
