France sold its crown jewels in 1887 to stop a king returning; the Louvre bought one back for €6.72 million, and thieves took it in eight minutes in 2025

Cardinal Mazarin died in 1661 and left 18 large diamonds to the French crown. In September 1792 thieves broke into the Garde-Meuble in Paris and took most of the crown jewels. Many were never recovered. After 1870 the Third Republic debated the jewels for 16 years. A law of December 1886 ordered them sold, in large part to deter a return to monarchy. The sale ran at the Louvre from 12 to 23 May 1887 and raised 7,221,560 francs. Tiffany & Co. bought more than two-thirds of the lots. The Regent diamond and a few historic pieces were kept. One lot sold was a diamond bow made in 1855 by François Kramer for Empress Eugénie. Emile Schlesinger bought it for Caroline Astor of New York for about 42,000 francs. It stayed with the Astors for about a century. In April 2008 it was offered at Christie's New York in connection with the jeweller Ralph Esmerian, who owed Merrill Lynch $177 million. The auction was cancelled when his company filed for bankruptcy. The Louvre bought the bow privately for €6.72 million. Esmerian's siblings sued, saying it belonged to a family trust. Esmerian pleaded guilty to bankruptcy and wire fraud in 2011. On 19 October 2025 four men used a furniture lift to enter the Galerie d'Apollon and took eight jewels worth €88 million, including the bow. Suspects are charged, not convicted. The jewels had not been recovered when last reported^†.