LONDON -- As the alarms sounded at the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, four suspects took off on two motorbikes, winding their way through central Paris, allegedly carrying with them a haul of "priceless" jewelry once worn by queens and made of sapphire, diamonds and emeralds.

The precious artifacts snatched from Paris’s Louvre Museum on Sunday include an emerald necklace gifted by Napolean to his second wife and other priceless jewels.

The Louvre temporarily closed after a daylight jewel heist in its Galerie d'Apollon. Officials say the museum will reopen once security upgrades are complete.

The most spectacular Louvre robbery since the Mona Lisa in 1911 proves the vulnerability of French museums, writes .

French daily Le Parisien reported that the criminals entered the world’s most visited museum and former palace via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway. The report said they used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery.

Never say never. The Mona Lisa (1503), undoubtedly the main attraction at the Louvre, was stolen in 1911 and recovered two years later. The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, was an Italian handyman working at the Louvre and was caught trying to sell it.

The authorities have now released the full list of items that were taken during the heist, including a necklace, a brooch and a tiara from Napoleon’s imperial collection. A crown that belonged to Empress Eugenie, Napoleon III’s wife, was dropped by the thieves and later recovered nearby, damaged.

Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value,“ the Louvre said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE