The city was thrown into consternation at the boldness of the act and the magnitude of the robbery. Active and untiring search was at once made, but not a trace of the plunder nor the least clew to the perpetrators could be obtained.
Not long after, however, an anonymous letter revealed the information that a part of the spoil was then secreted in a ditch beside one of the alleys of the Champs d’Elysées. Sergent, with his colleagues, hastened to the spot indicated, and found there the Regent diamond and the magnificent agate cup then known as the Chalice of Abbé Suger.
Search was thus stimulated to further exertions, but without avail and twelve years passed without affording the least clew to the robbers. At this time a forgery was committed upon the Bank of France, and several persons were arrested for the act. Among them was a veteran soldier who had formerly served in the Pandours, and who was called by his comrades “Baba.”
When arraigned before the court, Baba made the following singular confession after betraying his accomplices in the forgery: “This is not the first time,” he exclaimed in an excited manner, “that my confessions have been useful to society; and if you condemn me I shall implore the clemency of the Emperor. Without me Napoleon would not be on the throne, for it is to me alone the success of the battle of Marengo is due. I was one of the robbers of the Garde Meuble. I aided my accomplices to bury in the ditch in the Champs d’Elysées the Regent and the other objects which, being easily recognized, would have led to detection. Upon the consideration of a promise which has been perfectly kept, I revealed this hiding-place. The Regent was found; and, gentlemen of the court, you are not ignorant of the fact that the magnificent diamond was placed in the hands of the Dutch by the First Consul to procure the funds which were so much needed after the 18th Brumaire.”
Baba was nevertheless condemned to the galleys, but the sentence was not enforced, and shortly afterwards he was sent to the prison in the Bicêtre, where he remained until he died. Nothing further than this was ever made known publicly, but suspicions of complicity in the robbery were directed towards the Orleans family.
Napoleon, when crowned as Emperor, and with the wealth of Europe at his command, made great efforts to restore the National regalia to their former beauty and value. The various countries of Europe were ransacked for the lost gems; and it is stated that a number of them were recovered. Great numbers of other gems were also bought and added to the Regalia; so that in 1810 the inventory of the Crown exhibited a list of 37,393 precious stones.
The changes of the one hundred days and the Restoration left the National property untouched. Under the reigns of Louis XVIII. and Charles X. additions were made, and the casket contained 64,812 gems and precious stones of all kinds. The inventory of 1849 presented the same number of articles, with a total valuation of over twenty millions of francs, without estimating the value of the bijou.
There must have been a large augmentation during this time, for the present which Louis XVIII. ordered to be made deducted from the collection diamonds of the value of three quarters of a million of francs. This costly present was in the form of the Order of Saint Esprit and constructed of superb diamonds.
Of the robbery of 1792, the Sancy diamond and the unique blue one of sixty-seven karats have never been recovered. Since the inventory of 1810 two beautiful gems have also disappeared. One of these was the magnificent opal which Josephine wore, and which was known as the Burning of Troy. The other was the beautiful brilliant of thirty-four karats which was obtained by M. Elias for Napoleon. This was the much-loved gem which the Emperor is said to have carried with him on his person, and which was asserted to have been lost in the rout at Waterloo.
The magnificent blue diamond, which was regarded as one of the marvels of the mineral kingdom, has never been recovered. Its early history has also been lost, but the gem is believed to be the identical stone which Tavernier brought from India and sold to Louis XIV. At that time it was described as a gem of a beautiful violet hue, but of a bad form, being flat and thin. Its weight in this condition was 112³⁄₁₆ karats, which would probably afford a fine brilliant of the size of the missing stone, 67²⁄₁₆ karats. History has failed to trace the wanderings of this gem since its departure from the Louvre, but suspicion rests upon the superb blue diamond which was in the possession of the English banker, the late Mr. Hope. However, the English diamond weighs but 44¹⁄₂ karats. Therefore a loss of quite 22 karats was incurred in recutting the stone in order to escape detection.