Can France Get Back Its Invaluable Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?

Law enforcement in France are making every effort to recover irreplaceable treasures stolen from the Paris museum in a audacious daylight robbery, but experts are concerned it may already be impossible to save them.

At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, burglars entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, making off with eight valued items before escaping on scooters in a daring heist that was completed in eight minutes.

Expert art detective an expert in the field told the BBC he feared the stolen items may already be "long gone", after being taken apart into many fragments.

Experts suggest the pieces may be disposed of for a mere percentage of their value and taken out of the country, other experts have said.

Possible Culprits Behind the Heist

The thieves are experienced criminals, as the detective stated, shown by the speed with which they got through the museum of the museum with such efficiency.

"As you might expect, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide one day believing, I'm going to become a burglar, let's start with the Louvre Museum," he noted.

"This likely isn't their first heist," he added. "They've committed other burglaries. They feel certain and they thought, it might work out with this attempt, and took the chance."

As further evidence the skill of the thieves is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in resolving major theft cases" has been given responsibility with finding them.

Police officials have stated they think the robbery relates to a criminal organization.

Organised crime groups of this type typically have two main goals, legal official a senior official stated. "Either to act on behalf of a financier, or to obtain expensive jewelry to perform money laundering operations."

The detective suggests it seems highly unlikely to sell the items intact, and he said stealing-to-order for a specific client is something that typically occurs in Hollywood films.

"Nobody wants to acquire an artifact so identifiable," he stated. "It cannot be shown publicly, it cannot be passed to heirs, you cannot sell it."

Possible £10m Value

The detective suggests the objects will be taken apart and separated, including the gold and precious metals liquefied and the gems divided into smaller stones that will be extremely difficult to trace back to the museum theft.

Jewellery historian a renowned expert, creator of the digital series focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for 20 years, stated the perpetrators had "carefully selected" the most valuable gemstones from the museum's holdings.

The "impressively sized exquisite jewels" are expected to be dug out from the jewelry pieces and disposed of, she said, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which contains smaller gems incorporated within it and proved to be "too dangerous to keep," she continued.

This could explain why they left it behind as they got away, along with one other item, and found by authorities.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, has rare organic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.

Even though the pieces are regarded as being priceless, Ms Woolton expects them could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.

"They'll likely end up to buyers who are prepared to take possession," she said. "Many people will seek for these items – they will take whatever price is offered."

How much exactly could they fetch financially if sold on? Regarding the possible worth of the stolen goods, the detective said the dismantled components could be worth "multiple millions."

The gems and gold stolen may bring approximately £10 million (€11.52m; millions in US currency), says Tobias Kormind, chief executive of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.

He stated the gang must have an experienced professional to remove the gems, and an expert gem cutter to change the bigger identifiable gems.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable might be marketed quickly and while it was hard to tell the exact price of every gem removed, the larger ones may amount to about half a million pounds each, he said.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four of that size, so adding each of them together with the gold components, one could estimate approaching the estimated figure," he said.

"The diamond and gemstone market is active and there are many buyers on the fringes that don't ask about origins."

Hope persists that the items may be found intact one day – yet this possibility are fading as the days pass.

There is a precedent – a jewelry display at the London museum features an artifact taken decades ago that later resurfaced in a public event several decades later.

Definitely is many in France are deeply shocked by the Louvre heist, expressing a personal connection toward the treasures.

"French people don't always like jewellery since it represents a question of privilege, and which doesn't always carry positive associations in France," a heritage expert, head of heritage at French jeweller Maison Vever, explained