France is still in shock after the theft of the invaluable jewelry from the Louvre – the world's most visited museum. Two people from a Paris suburb have been arrested, suspected of being involved in the heist.
But the French crown jewels, among them an emerald necklace with matching earrings that belonged to Napoleon's wife, were hardly a global concern before the brazen heist.
The sudden fame is a fate that the crown jewels share with the most famous object in the art world – the Renaissance masterpiece "Mona Lisa", painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
Over 100 years ago, in 1911, a museum employee took down the painting from its hook and disappeared. It would take more than a day before the theft was even discovered. The mysterious disappearance became a world news story and visitors flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung.
When the painting was found two years later in Florence, it had gone from being known mostly among art experts to the world's most famous work of art.
Due to the drama, the scandal, the heist, the Apollo gallery and the remaining jewels will likely be in the spotlight and become celebrities, just like the Mona Lisa after 1911, says art historian and cultural heritage expert Anya Firestone.
