By Anjan Roy
One of the most iconic museums of the world, the Louvre in Paris, has been looted by an organised gang of thieves who got away with priceless crown jewels of nineteenth century France.
The items stolen would provide a list of most coveted jewellery in the world, worth not only millions, the latest estimate being around $102 million. But they would be irreplaceable historical pieces. The jewels were worn by the French royals in the nineteenth century, when the French aristocracy and elites were at the pinnacle of their glory and power.
Diamonds and emeralds studded, with intricate craftsmanship of the leading creators of jewellery in Europe, these were beauties of their times and a wonder in present times.
Now, consider the hypothetical question. If some wealthy Indians —and there are any number of them now— offer to purchase these jewellery items from the thieves provided these are not damaged even 0.01%, would that be a criminal act. The rich Indians might even think of buying these and donating them to some Indian museums for display.
Is there any harm there? Should these Indians be tried for breach of law?
Going by precedence, and that is a valid reason in common law, the British have stolen any number of artefacts and treasures from India over centuries. So have the French plundered many of their colonies. The Germans have incomparably valuable art pieces from Turkey. And the Americans, they have so many of these bought by their wealthy and donated to now world-famous museums. Should these museums now be tried?
Even a living human being —a black man—was kidnapped and put on show at a museum in the West in a cage. What about the compensation to the family of that man?
But anyway, the way the jewellery thieves of France executed their heist gives the French police and security apparatus the worst public embarrassment.
It was not done under the cover of night, but within half an hour of the opening of the museum in the morning in the midst of one of the busiest parts of the French capital. There were some bits of happenstance though.
In their haste or carelessness, the thieves had dropped an incomparable crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, which was found lying on the street. The crown has over 1350 diamonds and no less than some 57 emeralds.
It was not a hush-hush affair, but committed in broad daylight on a principal thoroughfare —Quai Francois Mitterand in central Paris— where a huge mobile ladder was placed against Louvre’s walls to gain access to the upper floor chamber where the jewels were displayed.
Cautionary messages have been sent across Europe and major jewellery dealers about the theft so that trade in these priceless artefacts could be tracked down quickly. However, the expert manner in which the whole heist had been carried out, leads little doubt that the thieves would be extremely cautious.
In a daring heist, the thieves carried a truck mounted ladder to gain access to a first-floor window of the museum and gained entrance by cutting a window with power-driven cutters. Then they methodically went along a gallery and reached the chamber where the jewels had been on display.
The atrocious robbery would have regaled Sherlock Homes if the case of the Louvre theft had landed on his lap at 221 B Baker Street in early 20th century London, with my dear Watson sitting across. Unfortunately, it happened more than a century later and it is only the Sherlock Homes Society which could now become active in their in-house sessions.
Unlike in the days of Holmes when TV journalism was not up and about, several European and American TV channels are talking to former jewel thieves who are giving their expert opinions.
While they are appreciative about the expert planning an execution of the entire project, they point out several mistakes and misadventures which might lead to the thieves being rounded up. They have left behind a motorbike which apparently the thieves had tried to set on fire.
The jewels lost include those belonging to the queen of Napoleon III, Queen Eugenie, and other French royals. The jewels lost are mainly diamond studded with emeralds in between. The museum and experts believe that the hopes of recovering these were nearly nil.
It is easy to break up the jewellery and then melt the precious metals and extract the gems stones. Thereafter, it should be difficult to recognise these stolen jewels if offered for sale.
Given the craze of the nouveau rich of present-day India, some of these gems might even land in the country through hawala routes or underground channels totally incognito. Jaipur being a principal centre of the art of jewellery making, might also unwittingly see some of these arrive for their new life.
Famous jewellery and gemstones have a habit of acquiring new life in strange ways. Witness the Kohinoor, which was known to have been found in a mine in Golconda, before going through various avatars and landing with the Punjab king Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
It went on changing it abode until the original stone was irretrievably damaged by the English Prince Concert Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. The original stone was so mutilated by crude gemstone cutting and polishing workers of Antwerp, that Dalip Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s descendant held in captivity in Britain, disdainfully returned the gems stone back to the British Crown when he was offered to retain it as a keepsake.
Since Dalip Singh’s disgust, Kohinoor had remained in the crown jewels collection of the British royalty and publicly displayed in an underground basement in the Tower of London — a stolen jewel from the royal family of Ranjit Singh. (IPA Service)
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