Over the years, we’ve created some fantastic masterpieces that everyone knows about. As heist movies make their way back into our cinemas — recently with the Ocean’s reboot (Ocean’s 8) and an epic sting scene in Marvel’s Black Panther, you’re probably wondering how we actually protect these types of assets and keep those scenarios fictional.
1. The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is undeniably the most famous painting in the world — the creation of one of the most desirable artists, Leonardo Da Vinci. In fact, the piece itself is the most known, most visited and most written about in modern times.
So much so, it’s reported to have the highest insurance valuation of all time — at around $100 million in 1962. However, the inflation rate takes this up to $821,746,666.67 in 2018, making it one of the most valuable items in the world.
The painting was never signed by Da Vinci and was bought by King Francis I and entered the French Royal Collection in 1518. After the French Revolution, the painting was moved to the Louvre; what was thought to be a safe-haven for the piece — but it wasn’t.
The painting was then stolen in 1911. However, it took a few hours to realise so. French painter, Louis Béroud visited The Louvre and found that the painting was missing — he asked the guards about its whereabouts and they weren’t entirely sure and assumed that it was being photographed for museum advertisements. Béroud returned a few hours later and the painting had not been returned; it had been stolen.
The museum then closed for a week where investigations were carried out. There were many now famous-faces on the suspect list for the theft of this masterpiece, including Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso; but they were both cleared of all charges.
The true thief was located two years later when he attempted to sell the painting to an Italian museum. It’s often described as one of the greatest thefts in the 20th century, as Vicenzo Peruggia stole the piece during working hours, hid in a broom closet and waited until after hours to walk out of the museum with the painting positioned under his coat. However, the thief was only jailed for six months as it was defined as an act of patriotism for Italy. The painting returned to its home in Paris.
With more people visiting the painting than ever before, it’s now situated behind a bulletproof glass. The glass is reportedly almost two centimetres thick and the painting is held in a special sealed box that protects it from vibrations and humidity. Public visitors are separated from the piece by a queue barrier, but that is only one aspect of the state-of-the-art security systems that the Louvre has put in place.
Covering 70,000 square meters of museum, there is 24-hour surveillance of closed-circuit TV cameras, access control systems and intruder-detection equipment (including video analytics) to help protect some of the finest pieces of art in the world.
2. Sweden’s Crown Jewels
Unlike the Crown Jewels in Britain, the security in Sweden for theirs is slightly inadequate. In August 2018, two crowns and a royal orb which belonged to King Charles IX of Sweden and his wife Christina of Holstein-Gottorp were stolen in what looked like an amateur heist.
The treasures that are on for show at Strangnas Cathedral weren’t always available for the public eye. The gems were originally created as funeral pieces and were buried in the tomb with them but were later unearthed. Although the theft was premediated, it was extremely insufficient. Two men walked into the cathedral around midday and smashed the glass where the contents were held — causing alarms to go off around the building.
Using a mixture of bicycles and speedboats, the thieves were able to get away. However, one of the thieves was soon tracked down because of blood left at the crime scene and the jewels were partly recovered.
The crown jewels would have been incredibly hard to sell on the black market due to the manhunt carried out in Sweden for both the culprits and the jewels. As well as this, they’re extremely valuable and the thieves would have to find the right buyers. The jewels are made from the noblest metals and the gold value is worth around £43,000.
The jewels were stolen from Sweden once before though. In 2012, a 19-year-old refugee claimed to be a friend of a member of the royal family and stole £73,700 worth of jewels — but sold them only for £730 to drug dealers for marijuana. As well as this, the thief also reportedly stole a £30,350 tiara and threw it off a bridge.
Although the stolen crown jewels from the cathedral were on public display, they weren’t properly protected, and the thieves should have been detected as they walked in. With artefacts of immense value situated in the building, the cathedral should be looking at installing walkthrough security door frames and regular visitor searches. In terms of the theft in 2012, people with the right credentials should only be able to enter certain areas of the palace.
3. The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
We’ve acquired many jewels in Britain over time. With 23,557 delicate stones and over 140 objects, putting an exact price on the jewels has been difficult but estimates have been made stating that they are worth over £3bn. As well as this, it has also proven impossible to insure them because of their immense value.
The jewels are under the highest security measures and are locked in the Tower of London. Believe it or not, the crown jewels are protected by bombproof glass and although the tower is open to the public, they’re watched by more than 100 hidden CCTV cameras.
Employed by the Ministry of Defense, the tower has 22 guards at all time. Additionally, these guards are accompanied by 38 Yeomen Warders, who are ex-military personnel who manage the large numbers of visitors. The Yeomen are permanently present and live in the tower itself.
As well as this, the jewels can only be removed for ceremonial events; such as state openings by the Lord Chamberlain. However, when this type of activity occurs, armed police officers must be present.
This article was researched by 2020 Vision, IP CCTV Systems specialists.
Sources:
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/12/15/mona-lisa-was-stolen-in-1911-2/
https://www.louvre.fr/en/security-officer
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/999615/sweden-crown-jewels-royal-swedish-police-heist-thieves-Stragnas-cathedral
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/how-much-crown-jewels-worth-11855338
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewel_House