🔗 Share this article

Law enforcement in France are making every effort to recover priceless gemstones stolen from the Louvre Museum in a brazen daytime heist, although specialists have warned it could be too late to save them.

Within the French capital this past Sunday, thieves entered by force the world's most-visited museum, taking eight precious artifacts and getting away on scooters in a daring heist that lasted approximately eight minutes.

Dutch art detective an expert in the field stated publicly he feared the stolen items are likely "dispersed", once separated into hundreds of parts.

It is highly likely the artifacts may be disposed of for a small part of their true price and taken out of the country, additional specialists have said.

Who May Be Behind the Theft

The perpetrators acted professionally, as the detective stated, shown by the speed with which they got through the museum of the Louvre so quickly.

"You know, as a normal person, you don't wake up overnight believing, I'm going to become a thief, let's start with the world-famous museum," he explained.

"This isn't their first heist," he added. "They've committed other burglaries. They are confident and they calculated, we might get away with this attempt, and took the chance."

Additionally demonstrating the skill of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "high success rate in solving significant crimes" has been given responsibility with tracking them down.

Police officials have stated they think the theft is connected to a sophisticated gang.

Organised crime groups of this type generally have two primary purposes, legal official Laure Beccuau said. "Either they operate on behalf of a client, or to secure precious stones to conduct illegal financial activities."

The expert believes it would be extremely difficult to dispose of the artifacts as complete pieces, and he explained commissioned theft for a private collector represents a situation that mainly exists in Hollywood films.

"Few people wish to handle a piece this recognizable," he stated. "You can't display it to acquaintances, you cannot leave it to your children, you cannot sell it."

Potential £10m Value

Mr Brand believes the objects are likely broken down and broken up, including the gold and silver melted down and the precious stones re-cut into smaller components that will be extremely difficult to trace back to the Paris heist.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, creator of the audio program focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's jewelry specialist for many years, explained the perpetrators had "cherry-picked" the most important gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large exquisite jewels" are expected to be extracted from their settings and disposed of, she noted, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which features less valuable pieces set in it and was "too dangerous to possess," she explained.

This could explain the reason it was abandoned as they got away, in addition to a second artifact, and recovered by police.

Empress Eugenie's tiara that disappeared, contains extremely rare organic pearls which have a very large value, experts say.

Even though the pieces have been described as being priceless, Ms Woolton believes they could be marketed for a fraction of their worth.

"They will go to someone who are prepared to handle these," she said. "Everyone will be looking for these items – they'll settle for any amount available."

What specific amount could they fetch in money upon being marketed? Regarding the potential value of the haul, the expert stated the dismantled components might value "several million."

The precious stones and taken gold might achieve as much as £10 million (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, chief executive of an established company, an online jeweller.

The expert explained the perpetrators will require an experienced professional to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to alter the larger recognisable stones.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable might be marketed right away and although difficult to estimate the specific worth of each piece stolen, the larger ones could be worth about half a million pounds each, he explained.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four that large, therefore combining each of them together with the gold components, you are probably reaching the estimated figure," he concluded.

"The gemstone and luxury goods trade is active and plenty of customers operate on the fringes that won't inquire too many questions."

Some optimism remains that the items could reappear in original condition one day – although such expectations are diminishing as the days pass.

Historical examples exist – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum includes a piece of jewelry stolen in 1948 which eventually returned in a sale several decades later.

What is certain are numerous French citizens are deeply shocked by the Louvre heist, having felt an emotional attachment to the jewels.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry because it's an issue of privilege, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation within French culture," a jewelry authority, director of historical collections at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, stated