One of the last intact pieces of the French crown jewels that were sold off by the republican government in the 19th century returned to France this week after being acquired by the Louvre Museum.
The museum paid $10.7 million for the bow brooch, made up of 2,634 diamonds. It was created by Parisian jeweler Francois Kramer for Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, in 1855. In 1887, it was sold by order of the Third Republic.
