Louvre releases image of priceless crown 'crushed but intact' after daring jewel heist

The daring daylight robbery saw €88 million (£76.5 million) worth of jewels, including historical French treasures, from diamonds belonging to Louis XIV, to French Crown Jewels belonging to Napoleon, his wife, and his successors.

The world-renowned museum has now issued the first photographs of the crown of the French Empress Eugenie since the theft.

The item was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

The thieves tried to remove the 19th Century diadem through a narrow hole they sawed in its glass display case.

The crown is now missing one of eight golden eagles that adorned it but has kept 56 emeralds and all but 10 of its 1,354 diamonds.

The Louvre added crown would be restored to its original state "without the need for reconstruction".

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The haul also included a diamond and emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise and jewels tied to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense.

During the four-minute heist, the suspects, believed to be a four-man team, used a stolen mechanical lift to enter the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony before cracking open display cases and fleeing with the jewels.

After the daring heist, the suspects jumped onto motor scooters to escape through the narrow streets of Paris.