You will not believe this, but a ‘Lupin’ episode just unfolded in real life, and the setting couldn’t have been more dramatic.
On the morning of Oct. 19, thieves broke into the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon, the glittering hall of gold and grandeur where France keeps its crown jewels and its pride.
French officials reported that several robbers entered through a window shortly after the museum opened, using a lift typically meant for moving furniture. In just four minutes, they grabbed priceless pieces dating back to the Napoleonic era.
Now, many are questioning how such a daring theft could happen in one of the most important art institutions in the world. After all, this is the Galerie d’Apollon-a place built to celebrate light, not to be robbed in the shadows. History of the gallery
The gallery that once housed the jewels stolen today is named for King Louis XIV, who saw himself in Apollo, the god of the sun.
The story began in disaster. In February 1661, a fire tore through the Petite Galerie, a jewel of Henri IV’s Louvre. His grandson, 23-year-old Louis XIV, seized the chance to rebuild bigger and brighter, dedicating the space to Apollo, god of the sun.
To bring his vision to life, he enlisted architect Louis Le Vau and painter Charles Le Brun. The Galerie d’Apollon became their playground for grandeur, a place where myth met monarchy.
Above, Le Brun’s masterpiece unfolds: Apollo driving his chariot across the sky. Along the central axis, the sun god’s journey from dawn to night is depicted, surrounded by images of hours, seasons, zodiac signs, and continents, symbolizing the reach of the Sun King’s power.
The gallery remained incomplete for almost two centuries until architect Félix Duban revived it in 1850. Eugène Delacroix was commissioned to paint the 12-meter-wide ‘Apollo Slaying the Serpent Python’, a vivid display of French Romanticism. The walls were finished with portrait tapestries of 28 monarchs and artists who built the Louvre. Treasures inside
Since the Louvre became a museum, the Galerie d’Apollon has displayed the collection of hardstone vessels of the kings of France. These pieces, carved from agate, amethyst, lapis lazuli, jade, and rock crystal, are often mounted with gilt and enamel. Louis XIV had a particular passion for hardstones, amassing around 800 items.
Among the most notable pieces is Neptune’s Ship, a lapis lazuli creation. Known for its intricate design and refined Parisian metalwork, it portrays the vessel of the Roman sea god Neptune, decorated with delicate flower garlands.
The gallery also holds the French Crown Jewels, including the Côte de Bretagne spinel, once owned by Anne de Bretagne, and three historic diamonds-the Regent, Sancy, and Hortensia.
The Regent is a 140-carat diamond brought to France from India. It’s known as one of the most valuable diamonds in the world, admired for its size, weight, and crystal-clear purity-often described as ‘of the first water.’ What was stolen
Yet amid the splendor of the Galerie d’Apollon, no one imagined its brilliance would be dimmed in the blink of an eye.
Thieves managed to steal eight items from two display cases. The missing treasures include pieces once owned by Empress Marie-Louise, wife of French Emperor Napoleon I, and Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
According to officials, the stolen trove comprises tiaras, necklaces, earrings, and brooches. And just like a scene from a film, the thieves sped off on motorcycles, dropping a ninth item in their escape-a small but telling remnant of a heist that shook the world’s greatest museum.
The gallery, having weathered war, revolution, and countless restorations, now faces a different kind of loss-not of jewels alone, but of the illusion that its treasures were ever beyond reach.