French authorities have described it as priceless. But the last time the diamond-encrusted bow, which once belonged to Empress Eugenie, was sold, it reached a reported €6.72 million ($7.8 million). What it’s worth now, three days after it was stolen as part of a raid on the Louvre Museum in Paris is much more difficult to establish.
Unless stolen to order, the plunder of royal necklaces, tiaras and earrings, is in art-market parlance already “burned” — at least in its last-known state. The Ocean’s Eleven-style robbery has been widely publicized so the pieces can’t be sold, or worn, in public. And black markets carry deep discounts. Selling the jewels separately may be more discrete but also won’t be straightforward.
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