Empress Eugénie’s Crown

Today marks the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Empress Eugénie of France, who as born on this day in 1826! The illustrious Spanish Aristocrat who married Emperor Napoleon III and became the ill-fated last Empress of the French, today we are featuring Empress Eugénie’s Crown!

For the 1855 Paris Universal Exhibition, Emperor Napoleon III sought to impress the world by displaying the Crown Jewels, which had been remounted for the occasion. Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier was commissioned to create the Emperor’ and Empress’ Crowns using some of the stones from the French Crown Jewels, through the Empress’ Crown used stones which belonged to the Emperor.

It is composed of bands formed by the wings of eight chased golden eagles alternating with eight palmettes extended by means of a large palm, and it is covered with 102 brilliant cut diamonds taken from the ‘Diamonds of the Crown of France’. To this were added 1,252 brilliant cut diamonds and 56 emeralds paid for by the imperial budget.

The shape of Empress Eugénie’s crown is typical of the representation of imperial crowns, designed according to a principle already present on the imperial coat of arms of the First Empire. The eight eagle-shaped arches were crafted from chased gold, while the others form palmettes made of diamonds, including a large one in the center. Each palmette is flanked by two emeralds. The arches converge beneath a diamond dome enhanced by a circle and a semicircle formed by emeralds and surmounted by a cross composed of brilliant-cut diamonds.

The couple had no Coronation, so the Crown was never worn and stayed in France with the rest of the French Crown Jewels when Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie went into exile in 1870, and unlike the fate of the rest of the French Crown Jewels sold at auction in 1887, the Crown was returned to Empress Eugénie by the Third Republic at some point after 1875, but she was never publicly depicted wearing the piece.

When Empress Eugénie passed away in 1920, she left her Emeralds to her goddaughter and namesake, Queen Victoria Eugenie of Sp ain, while the Crown was bequeathed to the then eight-year old Princess Marie-Clothilde Bonaparte, Countess Serge de Witt, remaining in her possession over the next seven decades.

In 1988, Princess Marie-Clothilde Bonaparte put up Empress Eugénie’s Crown for auction, when it was acquired, through benefactors, Mr and Mrs Roberto Polo, by the Musée du Louvre, when it went on display with the other French Crown Jewels in the Galerie d’Apollon of the Musée du Louvre in Paris.

Last year, Empress Eugénie’s Crown was among the Jewels stolen from the Louvre in October 2025, alongside Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara, the Tiara, Necklace and Earrings of the Orléans Sapphire Parure, Empress Marie-Louise’s Emerald Parure, Empress Eugénie’s Diamond Bow Brooch and the Diamond Reliquary Brooch.

However, unlike the other jewels, the Crown was dropped and recovered in a damaged state on the sidewalk outside the Louvre, having been deformed as it was yanked through the reinforced glass case. One eagle was lost and several decorative elements were damaged.

A report by Louvre specialists said the crown had likely been crushed as the burglars yanked it through a small slit cut in its reinforced glass case during the heist and further damaged by the impact of its fall during their escape. In the process, four of its palms, decorated with diamonds and emeralds, were detached and one fell to the floor. About 10 of the 1,354 diamonds are missing, according to the Louvre report, along with the one golden eagle, which “is probably somewhere with the other pieces that were stolen, and perhaps we will find them one day,”

Despite the damage, the Crown remains largely intact and Louvre has initiated an official process to appoint a qualified restorer to return the Crown to its original condition.

The Louvre announced it will soon invite restorers to submit proposals for the crown’s repair, a process that will be supervised by a newly formed committee of experts. The museum’s decorative arts director, Olivier Gabet, said the museum staff didn’t know how much the restoration would cost, but were starting with an estimate of 40,000 euros, or $47,000. Since almost all the of the parts had been found, the real cost will be in the hours of delicate repair work.