Essential Information Regarding Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara

The ancient diadem is adorned with 212 pearls and almost 2,000 diamonds.

The diadem is set with with 212 pearls and nearly 2,000 diamonds.

Investigators are urgently working to recover the invaluable collection of French Crown Jewels taken from the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday. Included were other items that belonged to Empress Eugénie, the spouse of Napoleon III. The intricately designed crown was the sole artifact retrieved from outside the museum, which was formerly a palace, after the burglary. Reports indicate that the Empress's crown was discovered damaged, however the extent of the damage has yet to be disclosed.

Franz Xaver Winterhalter’s portrait of Empress Eugénie in court dress (c. 1853). PHOTO JOSSE/LEEMAGE/ GETTY IMAGES.

Empress Eugénie (born Eugénie de Montijo) possessed another exquisite diadem, the Pearl Tiara, which was part of the French Crown Jewels on display but was unfortunately stolen. The museum states that the diadem consists of seven stems featuring three huge, superimposed pearls, together with eight alternate pelt-shaped cartouches. It is adorned with pear and diamond foliage, featuring 17 pears and 992 roses. The tiara comprises 212 pearls and 1,998 diamonds.

Established in 1853, the parure included a shoulder brooch crafted for Eugénie shortly after her nuptials to Napoleon III the same year. It is most notably recognized in Franz Xaver Winterhalter’s painting of the Empress, the original of which was housed in the Tuileries Palace adjacent to the Louvre, but was likely destroyed in the 1871 fire. A notable replica is shown at the Château de Compiègne museum, located north of Paris.

The Royal Watcher reports that Eugénie donned the Pearl Tiara during Napoleon III’s investiture into the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1855, during a State Visit to the United Kingdom. The royal couple ultimately entered exile in 1870 following France's loss in the Franco-Prussian War.

 Edward Matthew Ward’s The Investiture of Napoleon III With the Order of the Garter (c. 1855). WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.

The parure was shown at the Louvre in 1884, but the French government auctioned the Crown Jewels, including Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara, in 1887. In 1890, it was subsequently bought by the House of Thurn-et-Taxis, a German noble family, which retained possession for the following century. A number of women in the family donned it at weddings and gala events, hence it was not concealed.

However, it was not until 1992 that the Friends of the Louvre acquired the French Crown Jewels, including the Pearl Tiara, during an auction of the Thurn und Taxis Collection conducted by Sotheby’s.