“Thieves have no economic interest in recutting stones”

The Louvre jewels are still nowhere to be found. Is it possible to erase their origin by recutting them?

Their size and weight can be changed, making them difficult to identify. But we cannot remove encrusted impurities, which we call inclusions. They are part of the stone’s identity card. If a diamond dealer has the identity card of the stolen stones and he finds himself with one of them in his hands, he can recognize them.

For the moment, the Louvre has not made these maps public. Myself, without a map, I would have difficulty detecting the origin of a stolen diamond, cut and recut on a ring, which I would have analyzed.

How do we establish this identity card?

Today, whenever a gemstone exceeds one carat and is intended for resale, evaluation in an approved laboratory is almost mandatory. He alone distinguishes synthetic diamonds from natural diamonds, which sell for much more. It also allows you to determine the country of origin.

For example, I had a “pigeon’s blood” ruby ​​appraised in the laboratory that a client wanted to sell at the Hôtel Drouot. He thought it came from the mines of Mogok, Burma. The ruby ​​would then have been worth 100,000 euros, because this origin is of extraordinary quality. But it came from Mozambique and was “only” worth a few thousand euros.

Unfortunately, the French gemmology laboratory told me that the stones stolen from the Louvre had not been appraised in laboratories. These analyzes are expensive, the State has not done them.

This means that it would be very difficult to reauthenticate the stones if they were to be recut…

Yes. But this is not the most likely hypothesis in my opinion.

For what ?

Because I don’t see the economic benefit. The value of the stones drops considerably if the jewelry is taken apart. These eight stolen jewels belong to the Crown Jewels of France and are marvels as they are.

Look at the large bodice knot of Empress Eugénie or the sapphire adornment of Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense: it is their overall beauty, more than the intrinsic value of the stones, which determines their price.

This explains, for example, that in 2022, the Princess of Fürstenberg’s tiara was sold for 1.9 million euros in an auction, whereas it had been estimated at around 500,000 euros.

The loot from the Louvre is still considerable: more than 7,549 diamonds, 34 sapphires, 38 emeralds and 212 stolen pearls, for a total value of 88 million euros, according to the curator of the Louvre…

But who can buy them? Large stones like those in the Louvre cannot be resold without laboratory authentication. A diamond dealer is responsible under the law: receiving stolen goods is punishable by a fine of 375,000 euros and five years in prison.

Furthermore, if we reduce the weight of the stones, they will lose a lot of value. But it is true that some are priceless, like the pearls on Empress Eugénie’s tiara. They are natural, coming from the depths of the sea. We no longer find them of this quality: the seas are too polluted, and natural pearls have been replaced by cultured pearls.

Isn’t it enough for a few dishonest diamond dealers to sell the stones? In 2023, a network of receivers was dismantled in Antwerp, and involved the city’s jewelers…

Yes, it’s possible. The stones could also be sold on a black market abroad. But I don’t know these circuits. Personally, I would rather lean towards a burglary ordered by a collector in search of extraordinary jewels. Or by a country seeking to tarnish the image of France.

This flight has an international scope. The whole world is laughing at us. I received interview requests from American TV and Australian TV. I prefer to imagine this hypothesis, which would preserve the jewelry, rather than that of scoundrels who would recut the stones in small crooked workshops…

Could it be that these jewels will never be found, like the coronation sword of Charles X stolen from the Louvre in 1976?

Alas, it is a possibility. When you take so many risks to steal the Crown Jewels, it requires careful planning. Today I pray that they will be found. This theft shocked me a lot. I cried about it, as much as I cried about the fire at Notre-Dame. Because it touches on the history of our country.