Can France Recover Its Precious Royal Gems – Or Is It Too Late?

Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to recover extremely valuable jewels taken from the Louvre Museum in a daring broad daylight theft, yet authorities have warned it might be too late to recover them.

At the heart of Paris on Sunday, burglars entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, making off with eight valued items before escaping using scooters in a bold robbery that took about just minutes.

International art investigator Arthur Brand expressed his view he feared the stolen items could be "long gone", once separated into many fragments.

There is a strong chance the pieces may be disposed of for a mere percentage of their value and illegally transported from the country, other experts have said.

Potential Suspects Behind the Theft

The perpetrators are experienced criminals, according to the expert, shown by the fact they were through the museum of the Louvre so quickly.

"You know, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide overnight planning, I will become a burglar, let's start with the Louvre Museum," he explained.

"This won't be their initial robbery," he said. "They've carried out other burglaries. They're self-assured and they calculated, we could succeed with this, and took the chance."

Additionally demonstrating the skill of the thieves is being taken seriously, an elite police team with a "strong track record in resolving high-profile robberies" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.

Authorities have said they believe the robbery is linked to an organised crime network.

Sophisticated gangs of this type generally have two objectives, French prosecutor a senior official stated. "Either to act on behalf of a financier, or to secure precious stones to perform illegal financial activities."

The detective suggests it seems impossible to sell the items in their original form, and he explained commissioned theft for an individual buyer represents a situation that only happens in Hollywood films.

"Few people wish to touch an item so hot," he stated. "It cannot be shown to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to family, it cannot be sold."

Potential £10m Worth

The detective suggests the stolen items will be taken apart and separated, including the gold and silver components melted and the precious stones cut up into less recognizable pieces that could be nearly impossible to connect to the Louvre robbery.

Gemstone expert a renowned expert, creator of the podcast If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for two decades, told the BBC the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most significant treasures from the museum's holdings.

The "magnificent flawless stones" are expected to be dug out of their mountings and sold, she said, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which has smaller stones mounted in it and was "too dangerous to possess," she added.

This might account for why they left it behind as they got away, in addition to one other item, and located by officials.

The imperial headpiece which was stolen, contains extremely rare natural pearls which have a very large value, experts say.

While the items are considered being priceless, the historian anticipates they to be sold for a small percentage of their value.

"They'll likely end up to individuals who are prepared to handle these," she stated. "Many people will seek for these – they'll settle for what they can get."

What specific amount could they fetch as payment when disposed of? When asked about the estimated price of the stolen goods, the expert said the separated elements might value "many millions."

The gems and taken gold could fetch approximately a significant sum (millions in euros; millions in US currency), stated by an industry expert, chief executive of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer.

He told the BBC the gang would need a trained specialist to separate the jewels, and an expert gem cutter to alter the more noticeable pieces.

Smaller stones that were not easily identifiable could be sold right away and although difficult to estimate the specific worth of all the stones taken, the larger ones may amount to around £500,000 for individual pieces, he explained.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four of that size, thus totaling each of them together with the gold components, it's likely reaching the estimated figure," he stated.

"The jewelry and precious stone industry is active and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that don't ask regarding sources."

Hope persists that the stolen goods might resurface undamaged eventually – although such expectations are fading as the days pass.

There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the cultural institution displays an item of jewellery stolen in 1948 before reappearing in an auction much later.

Definitely includes the French public are extremely upset by the Louvre heist, demonstrating a cultural bond to the jewels.

"We don't necessarily like jewellery since it represents a question of power, and this isn't typically carry positive associations in France," a jewelry authority, head of heritage at French jeweller the historical business, explained