The Sancy Diamond
A pale-yellow diamond of Indian origin that passed through the hands of kings across Europe before returning to the Louvre.
The Sancy is a shield-shaped, pale-yellow diamond of 55.23 carats, cut in India and named after Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy, a French diplomat and financier to King Henri IV who owned it in the late sixteenth century.
It adorned the crowns of Henri III and Henri IV, was sold to King James I of England, then bought by Cardinal Mazarin, who bequeathed it to the French Crown in 1661 as one of the celebrated 'Mazarin diamonds.' It later travelled through Russian and other European collections.
In 1978 the Louvre acquired the Sancy, and it rejoined the French Crown Jewels in the Galerie d'Apollon, where it is shown near the Regent.
- 💎TypeShield-cut diamond · 55.23 ct
- ⛏️OriginIndia
- 📅Date16th century
- 🏛️RoomGalerie d'Apollon
- 📍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.