Empress Eugénie’s Crown
A gold, emerald and diamond crown of the Second Empire — one of the jewels of the Galerie d’Apollon.
The Crown of Empress Eugénie was created in 1855 by the crown jeweller Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier for the Paris Universal Exhibition of that year. It was made for Eugénie de Montijo, the Spanish-born wife of Emperor Napoleon III.
Its openwork gold band is formed of eight chased imperial eagles alternating with palmettes, set with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds — some of the diamonds drawn from the historic French Crown Jewels. The crown entered the Louvre’s collection in 1988 and is displayed among the Crown Jewels in the sumptuous Galerie d’Apollon.
October 2025 — the crown was among the French Crown Jewels stolen in a daylight raid on the Galerie d’Apollon. It was recovered — damaged — just outside the museum, and the Louvre has begun a formal restoration before it returns to display.
- 👑TypeCrown · French Crown Jewels
- 💎JewellerAlexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier
- 📅Date1855
- ✨Set with1,354 diamonds · 56 emeralds
- 🏛️RoomGalerie d’Apollon · Denon wing
- 📍LocationMusée du Louvre, 75001 Paris
About the Louvre
The Louvre is the world’s largest and most-visited art museum. Once the fortress and royal palace of the kings of France, it opened as a public museum in 1793 and today holds some 35,000 works spanning antiquity to the mid-19th century — from Egyptian antiquities and Greek marbles to the French Crown Jewels.
Since 1989, visitors enter beneath the glass Pyramid designed by architect I. M. Pei, which opens onto the museum’s three wings — Denon, Sully and Richelieu — arranged around the Cour Napoléon. The Louvre stands in the 1st arrondissement along the Rue de Rivoli, beside the Tuileries Gardens and the Seine.
The museum is open every day except Tuesday, from 9 am to 6 pm (with a late evening on Fridays). Timed tickets are strongly recommended and can be booked on the official site, louvre.fr; under-18s enter free, as do EU residents under 26. Nearest métro: Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7).
Where to see it — the Louvre and around
The Louvre (pulsing marker) at the centre. Toggle the filters to explore the heritage, gardens, restaurants and activities of the 1st arrondissement — and the hotels around it.