The crown of French Empress Eugenie recovered after last year’s Louvre heist was left damaged – but remains largely intact and will be restored, the museum has said.
Jewels worth an estimated £76m were stolen in an audacious raid at the museum in Paris on 19 October last year.
The thieves, who pulled off the heist in minutes while the attraction was open to visitors, left a diamond-studded headpiece belonging to the wife of Napoleon III – who ruled France in the 19th century – after dropping it during their escape.
The crown suffered “crushing damage” and was “significantly deformed” – but restoration will be possible without the need for reconstruction or re-creation, the museum said in a statement.
The museum also released photographs of the damaged crown, which it said is missing one of eight golden eagles that adorned it but retains its 56 emeralds and all but 10 of its 1,354 diamonds.
The restoration will be overseen by an expert committee led by the Louvre‘s director Laurence des Cars.
Five people have been charged with involvement in the heist, however, the stolen haul – which included jewellery linked to other royal figures from French history – has not been recovered.
The gang used a stolen furniture lift to access the second floor Galerie d’Apollon, a room in the Louvre outside which Empress Eugenie’s crown was found.
They then cracked open display cases with angle grinders before escaping with their loot and fleeing on the back of two scooters driven by accomplices.
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Speaking shortly after the heist, art detective Arthur Brand told Sky News: “These crown jewels are so famous, you just cannot sell them.
“The only thing they can do is melt the silver and gold down, dismantle the diamonds, try to cut them. That’s the way they will probably disappear forever.”
