A Cursed Indian Diamond Was Left Untouched in the Louvre Heist

On 19 October 2025, four masked thieves executed a bold daytime robbery at the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris. They made off with eight historic royal jewellery items, and the total value is estimated at around €88 million.

Among the crown jewels on display was a very famous Indian-origin diamond, the 140.64-carat Regent Diamond (mined in the Golconda region of India). That diamond was not stolen, despite being among the most valuable pieces. 

There is also the Hortensia, from India's Golconda region, and the Sancy diamond, which likely has Indian origins and has a scandalous past while still remaining at the Louvre under heavy guard. It is alleged that some of the gems stolen in the heist may have had Indian origins.

The Regent Diamond is also called a cursed diamond like the Koh-i-Noor. It was originally mined in the historic Golconda region and has a dramatic past involving smuggling and royal ownership. Legends say that it was mined by enslaved labourers, tying it to a painful history of forced mining in the colonial era.

Its presence in a major European museum and the fact that it was left behind during the heist raise interesting questions. Many reports suggest that its value and recognition may have made it more difficult to sell on the black market.

The heist has renewed attention on how jewellery and gemstones of Indian origin circulate globally. Authorities warn that stolen jewellery of this scale may quickly be dismantled, with gems removed and smuggled abroad, making recovery much harder.

For Indian heritage, this heist was an eye-opener on how gemstones mined or crafted in India have a stolen colonial past that end up in global museum collections, and then ironically become part of major thefts once again.

India's role in gemstone history is foundational, and the region around Golconda was once the source of the world's finest diamonds, to the extent that Golconda diamond became a byword for top-quality stones.

One account traces diamond mining in the Golconda region back thousands of years, and India once supplied the world’s diamonds for many centuries.

Jewellery making in India has cultural roots in the Indus Valley civilisation and continues through dynasties such as the Mughals and Rajputs. The materials (gold, silver, gemstones), the motifs (nature, gods, geometry), and the methods (beading, inlay) are extremely rich.

The modern pressures of rising gold prices and competition from machine-made goods are threatening some artisan communities. For example, goldsmiths in Tamil Nadu report large drops in handmade orders due to cost and demand issues. The example of Indian goldsmiths facing economic stress shows how craft heritage is fragile.

For India, jewellery and gemstone heritage is a cultural asset and a global story. Pieces mined or crafted in India ended up in palaces, museums, and galleries around the world, and they form part of that global heritage network.
 
India's jewellery craft tradition remains one of the finest in the world, with ancient gemstone sources and craftsmanship such as Kundan, Meenakari, and temple jewellery. Preserving that craft also means preserving the stories behind these stones.

Losses of heritage jewellery are cultural losses. Whether through colonial theft or craft decline, a missing piece is a lost link in a generational chain of tradition.

And when we come back to the heist, a criminologist notes that the theft has no excuse, but these objects are tied to an exploitative colonial past. That part of history can never be ignored or forgotten.