The Louvre Heist, Gold Price, and High Jewelry: ‘The Jewelry District’ Podcast

By Natalie Chomet | November 05, 2025

In this week’s episode, JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates talk about the Louvre heist and what might happen to the stolen jewels. They also discuss price of gold, which continues to soar, and jewelers’ and consumers’ sentiments about the yellow metal’s enduring value. Then Victoria reports on the high jewelry scene in L.A., where she recently attended events for Bulgari and Boucheron. Finally, the hosts look at predictions for holiday spending (hint: the forecast depends on who you’re talking about).

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Title sponsor: Jewelers Mutual (jewelersmutual.com)
Sponsor: De Beers (adiamondisforever.com)

Show Notes
02:45 Recapping and reflecting on the Louvre heist
09:25 Gold’s price and lasting value
13:00 Bulgari’s Polychroma collection comes to L.A.
18:30 Boucheron’s grand opening in Los Angeles
22:45 Holiday spending outlook

Episode Credits
Hosts: Rob Bates and Victoria Gomelsky
Producer and engineer: Natalie Chomet
Editor: Riley McCaskill
Plugs: @jckmagazine; jewelersmutual.com; adiamondisforever.com

Show Recap
Recapping and reflecting on the Louvre heist
Rob was getting ready to attend the CIBJO Congress in Paris and will report back with his takeaways, though he was interested in how some in CIBJO (the World Jewellery Confederation) want to change its Blue Books to stipulate that all lab-grown diamonds should be called synthetic. CIBJO’s Blue Books have influence with governments and are widely used and respected in the trade.

The mention of Paris leads to a discussion of the headline-making Oct. 19 jewelry heist at the Louvre. Authorities initially believed the crime was committed by four people working in pairs. The gang had a truck with a ladder on it—a common sight in Paris, which didn’t attract much attention.

The thieves climbed the ladder to a balcony on the side of the Louvre building where a gallery housing royal jewels was located, and then broke a window to get inside. There’s some debate about whether an alarm went off throughout the whole museum or just in the gallery area. While there were cameras there, they may not have been facing the particular cases that were robbed. The burglars brought tools, threatened the guards, and broke open two different display cases, taking nine pieces of jewelry from them. They then went back out the window and down the ladder and escaped on scooters.

The stolen jewels included an emerald necklace and earrings that belonged to the wife of Napoleon and sapphire pieces from French queen Marie-Amélie. The estimated value of all the stolen items, which were not insured, is around $102 million.

Rob says the thieves made a few mistakes: They left some clothing and tools behind, and even dropped one of the items that they stole—which, luckily, authorities were able to recover. Currently, eight pieces are missing.

The heist quickly became a political issue for France: President Emmanuel Macron spoke about it, and the Louvre director appeared in front of the French parliament and offered to resign. There are rumors that an organized crime group could be involved and that they may have had inside information on where the cameras in the gallery were located.

A major concern is that the thieves will destroy the historic pieces by removing the gems and melting down the metals. There’s two theories about what will happen to the stolen jewels, according to an insurance adjuster. One is that the thieves will break down the jewelry to sell its parts separately. The other is that a collector might want those specific pieces. Why else would the thieves choose such a high-profile location and jewels, when there’s plenty of jewelry stores to rob?

Rob also spoke with Scott Guginsky, executive vice president of Jewelers’ Security Alliance (and former Jewelry District guest), who said the Louvre heist shows that jewelry can be stolen anywhere it’s kept. Guginsky also said a recent uptick in gold thefts seems tied to the metal’s soaring price.

Gold’s price and lasting value
With security a concern as the price of gold continues to rise, Rob and Victoria note that jewelers who specialize in gold might want to consider how much of it they have out on display. Though the gold price fell slightly a few days before the podcast was recorded, it was still over $4,000. Rob and Victoria recall people’s shocked reactions when it surpassed $2,000—then $3,000.

The appeal of gold isn’t just as a decorative material but as an asset at this moment in time. “Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, was suggesting that it might go to $5,000. He even suggested it might go to $10,000,” Rob says. “I don’t think anybody knows where it’s going, but certainly the trend is for it to keep going up.”

Victoria says the high price of gold makes its value almost self-fulfilling: “On some level, it convinces people that gold is a good buy. Gold jewelry is always going to be something you can trade in, should you need it.”

Many jewelers lament the price of gold, but when they’re asked if they won’t buy it anymore if it passes a certain price, “nine times out of 10, if not 10 out of 10, they say, ‘Gold is my medium,’” Victoria states.

Bulgari’s Polychroma collection comes to L.A.
Victoria had just visited with some high-end brands that came to Los Angeles that week. First, Bulgari invited her to interview its CEO, Jean-Christophe Babin. She didn’t realize the scale of the event she was walking into. When she got to the venue—a mansion in Beverly Hills owned by wealthy art collectors—she saw that Bulgari had brought its new high jewelry collection, Polychroma, which it debuted in May in Sicily.

Polychroma is Bulgari’s largest high jewelry collection, with about 300 pieces. Victoria described some of the most spectacular pieces she saw, including an enormous yellow diamond ring, a heart-shape white diamond ring, and jewelry with mosaic-like patterns of colored stones.

Victoria thought she was going simply to interview Babin, but it turns out Bulgari hosted about 200 people at the Beverly Hills Hotel for several days of viewings, parties, and dinners. She didn’t realize she was visiting a collection that was being taken on a global tour. Since Polychroma’s debut in Italy, it’s gone to Japan and now the U.S, with future stops including Dubai and Shanghai. Bulgari clients around the world will be given an opportunity to see the collection and place their orders.

When Victoria spoke to Babin, she asked about the price of gold. He told her it affects the high jewelry business differently from other sectors. He also referred to the metal’s enduring value, noting that the company’s unsold inventory is now worth a lot more. New technologies are making production more efficient, Babin told Vic, and Bulgari has a new factory in Valenza.

“I think there’s been a big focus on incorporating all these efficiencies that allow them to retain more gold and not lose as much,” Victoria explains. “And this enduring appeal of this incredible precious metal that is so obviously worth all this money.”

Babin also told Victoria that Bulgari is embarking on a massive retail expansion. One of the reasons the brand came to L.A. is because it just revamped and is about to reopen a newly renovated Beverly Hills boutique.

Boucheron’s grand opening in Los Angeles
Another high jewelry brand, Boucheron, also just opened its first boutique in L.A. Victoria met with Boucheron CEO Hélène Poulit-Duquesne at the Sunset Tower, a historic hotel on Sunset Boulevard, and attended a party for the Beverly Hills boutique’s opening that night.

The celebration’s location wasn’t revealed to Victoria until she arrived, in a car that was sent for her. It turned out to be none other than the Harvey House, which is featured in the Apple TV series The Studio. Designed by midcentury modernist architect John Lautner, the Hollywood Hills house has sweeping cliffside views of the city below.

A table for 70 people was set up outside. Guests included actors Julianne Moore, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Judith Light, and other celebrity clients.

In addition to the glittering guests, the jewelry on display was also impressive—both archival pieces and contemporary creations, including some that creative director Claire Choisne designed to mimic the look of clouds. “They’re very avant-garde. They’re not your average high jewelry pieces,” Victoria says.

Victoria has been impressed with Choisne’s eye and ideas. “She’s really known for pushing the envelope in terms of technology and materials. Boucheron has blossomed in the last eight years under Hélène’s leadership and Claire’s creative direction.”

Holiday spending outlook
Victoria and Rob discuss predictions for retail spending this holiday. One survey found that consumers with low incomes may spend much less than in past years; people at middle-income levels will likely spend about the same; and people with higher incomes could spend upwards of 20% more this holiday. The disparity is stark.

Rob notes that even though the stock market is doing well, “not everybody is in the stock market.” He says the soaring stock market is fueling some high-end purchases, even though the rest of the economy is still struggling. It therefore makes sense that high jewelry brands like Bulgari and Boucheron, which cater to the wealthy, are doing well.

Rob asks Victoria if clients of these luxury brands talk about industry hot topics like lab-grown diamonds and the gold price. Vic’s sense is that these aren’t concepts they struggle with or want to discuss. “When you’re buying $200,000 of mostly stone-heavy jewelry, I don’t think the price of gold is really your issue,” she says. “They’re insulated from a lot. It’s always a spectacular reminder of how high this industry goes…. It is kind of mind-blowing.”

Any views expressed in this podcast do not reflect the opinion of JCK, its management, or its advertisers.