The Louvreย announced plans to restore the crown of Empress Eugenie, which was abandoned by thieves during their getaway after a brazen heist in the Paris museum last year.
Thieves made off with โฌ88 million ($104 million) in jewels in October but dropped the 170-year-old crown as they escaped.
The crown was left “badly deformed,” the Louvre said on Thursday, but it was nevertheless “nearly intact” and could be restored “without the need for reconstruction.”
All emeralds remain, 10 diamonds missing
The crown was part of a pair commissioned by Napoleon III in 1855 for him and his wife, although neither of them had a formal coronation.
Louvre officials said the crown still retained all 56 of its emeralds and was missing 10 “very small” diamonds from the 1,354 that originally adorned the piece. Of the eight golden eagles around the rim, only one was missing.
The museum will open a competitive bidding process to select an accredited restorer under the French Heritage Code, with support from a new advisory committee of experts comprising museum officials and jewelry experts.
The museum will also invite one representative from each of the five historical jewelry houses โ Mellerio, Chaumet, Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels โ to join the advisory committee.
Heist mastermind still at large
October’s unprecedented jewelry heist in the Louvre prompted a major review of the museum’s security.
French authorities have arrested all four members of the alleged heist crew, but officials say the mastermind remains at large.
Eight pieces from France’s crown jewels were stolen, including an emerald necklace belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, Marie-Louise, three pieces from a sapphire jewelry setย and a separate diadem belonging to Eugenie that was adorned with pearls.
None of the jewels has been found.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez