Thieves have stolen “priceless” jewelry from the Louvre in Paris, the world’s most-visited museum, in an audacious seven-minute raid on Sunday, the French interior minister has said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told radio station France Inter: “A major robbery took place this morning in the Apollo Room. Individuals entered the Louvre Museum from outside, using a external freight elevator that was positioned on a truck.”

The Apollo Room houses the French Crown Jewels, as well as treasures including Louis XIV’s hardstone vessel collection.

  • 𝚝𝚛𝚔@aussie.zone
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    9 hours ago

    Lots of risk for no financial gain, they should have taken something worth money at least.

    • FackCurs@lemmy.world
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      33 minutes ago

      For such high profile items, the thief’s don’t sell them as is. They take apart the jewelry and sell the precious stones bit by bit.

      It takes one unscrupulous jeweler to buy the stones, recut them and sell them.

      My guess is that the jewels are already in pieces en route to a foreign country.

    • ranzispa@mander.xyz
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      7 hours ago

      Why do you think those objects have no value? These people are clearly very experienced, probably they already had a buyer before the heist. This stuff is sold for lots of money.

        • ranzispa@mander.xyz
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          6 hours ago

          I’m sure you can find a little bit of value out of a gold crown with 1300 diamonds. The article never says the stolen items have no value, it says they are priceless, as such of a high value which can not be quantified. I guess it is the word “priceless” you’re focusing on.

          • Renohren@lemmy.today
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            32 minutes ago

            The crown was later found on the pavement, there are a few earrings and pendants still to be found. For the values of the gems: gems from that time often have quite a crude cut by today’s standards,and they are not individually of a high value. As with tea sets, it’s the full original set that has priceless value. The more you break it into bits, then individual gens, the more the value goes down.

            Clearly not a pink panther level job, though kudos for the ballsy heist.