🔗 Share this article

Police in France are making every effort to retrieve irreplaceable jewels robbed from the Louvre Museum in a daring broad daylight theft, although specialists are concerned it may already be too late to get them back.

At the heart of Paris on Sunday, thieves gained access to the most popular museum globally, making off with eight cherished pieces and getting away using scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in eight minutes.

Dutch art detective a renowned specialist told the BBC he feared the jewels are likely "already dismantled", having been broken up into numerous components.

There is a strong chance the pieces may be disposed of for a fraction of their worth and illegally transported from French territory, other experts have said.

Possible Culprits Behind the Theft

The group were professionals, according to the expert, as demonstrated by the speed with which they got inside and outside of the Louvre with such efficiency.

"Realistically speaking, for an average individual, one doesn't just get up overnight thinking, I will become a criminal, let's start with the Louvre," he said.

"This isn't their first heist," he said. "They've carried out other burglaries. They feel certain and they believed, we could succeed with this, and proceeded."

In another sign the professionalism of the thieves is considered significant, a specialist police unit with a "high success rate in solving high-profile robberies" has been assigned with finding them.

Authorities have stated they suspect the theft is linked to an organised crime network.

Criminal organizations like these usually pursue two main goals, French prosecutor the prosecutor stated. "Either they operate for the benefit of a client, or to secure valuable gems to carry out financial crimes."

The detective suggests it is extremely difficult to market the jewels in their original form, and he noted stealing-to-order for a private collector represents a situation that typically occurs in fictional stories.

"No one desires to acquire an item this recognizable," he stated. "It cannot be shown to your friends, you cannot leave it to your children, it cannot be sold."

Possible £10m Value

The expert thinks the artifacts will be taken apart and broken up, with the gold and silver components melted and the jewels divided into smaller components that would be nearly impossible to track back to the museum theft.

Historical jewelry specialist an authority in the field, creator of the podcast If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for 20 years, stated the thieves had "carefully selected" the most important gemstones from the Louvre's collection.

The "magnificent exquisite jewels" will probably be removed from the jewelry pieces and sold, she noted, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which has smaller stones set in it and was "too dangerous to keep," she continued.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned during the escape, in addition to a second artifact, and found by authorities.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, features exceptionally uncommon organic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.

Although the artifacts are considered being priceless, the historian expects them could be marketed for a fraction of their worth.

"They'll likely end up to buyers who is willing to acquire such items," she explained. "Authorities worldwide will search for these items – they'll settle for whatever price is offered."

How much exactly could they fetch in money when disposed of? Regarding the potential value of the haul, the expert stated the dismantled components could be worth "many millions."

The precious stones and gold stolen may bring as much as ten million pounds (over eleven million euros; thirteen million dollars), according to a jewelry specialist, chief executive of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.

The expert explained the perpetrators will require a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to alter the bigger identifiable gems.

Minor components that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold quickly and despite challenges to estimate the precise value of each piece stolen, the more significant gems may amount to approximately a significant amount for individual pieces, he explained.

"We know there are a minimum of four of that size, therefore combining each of them together with the gold components, one could estimate coming close to £10m," he said.

"The diamond and luxury goods trade has buyers and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that avoid questioning too many questions."

There are hopes that the stolen goods might resurface intact one day – yet this possibility are diminishing with each passing day.

There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the London museum includes an artifact previously stolen before reappearing in an auction several decades later.

What is certain are numerous French citizens are deeply shocked regarding the theft, having felt a personal connection with the artifacts.

"French people don't always value gems since it represents a question of authority, and which doesn't always have a good connotation in France," a heritage expert, head of heritage at French jeweller Maison Vever, explained