The French prosecution office has revealed the staggering value of the jewellery stolen from the Louvre Museum in broad daylight.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told French radio station RTL that the stolen items are estimated to be worth 88 million euros ($102 million), as the authorities continue to search for the treasure.
"This sum is indeed spectacular, but we must remember that this damage is economic. But it has nothing parallel or comparable to the historical damage caused by this theft," she said.
Around 100 investigators are involved in the manhunt to track down the criminals who stole the artifacts on Sunday morning.
The Louvre remained closed on Tuesday, October 21, in accordance with its scheduled opening times, but is due to reopen on Wednesday. The Apollo Gallery targeted by the thieves will remain closed.
Louvre Museum heist explained:
On Sunday morning, half an hour after opening, the thieves, wearing yellow vests, made their way into the Apollo Gallery, one of the most ornate rooms in the Louvre, through a window using a truck-mounted ladder.
Armed with tools including an angle grinder and a blowtorch, they targeted two high-security display cases.
Paris prosecutors say it took the robbers four minutes to break into the gallery, snatch the jewellery, and leave the world-famous museum at 9:38 a.m.
The entire operation lasted just seven minutes, authorities said.
What was stolen?
The stolen Louvre items included a diamond and sapphire jewellery set, featuring a tiara and necklace worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense.
As per the Louvre, the diadem – a jewelled headpiece worn by royalty – features 24 Ceylon sapphires and 1,083 diamonds that can be detached and worn as brooches.
Also stolen was an emerald necklace and earrings set that was a wedding gift from Napoleon to his second wife, Marie-Louise of Austria, in March 1810, containing 32 intricately cut emeralds and 1,138 diamonds.
Eight of the nine items taken remain unaccounted for.
Investigators do not have any solid leads as to who was behind the heist but are slowly amassing a body of evidence, reported CNN on Tuesday.
