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

Law enforcement in France are making every effort to retrieve priceless gemstones taken from the Louvre Museum in a brazen broad daylight theft, although specialists are concerned it may already be past the point of recovery to save them.

Within the French capital over the weekend, robbers entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, stealing eight precious artifacts and getting away via motor scooters in a bold robbery that took about eight minutes.

Dutch art detective a renowned specialist stated publicly he feared the stolen items are likely "long gone", after being taken apart into numerous components.

It is highly likely the artifacts will be sold for a small part of their true price and smuggled out of France, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Theft

The group are experienced criminals, Mr Brand believes, evidenced by the speed with which they got in and out of the Louvre so quickly.

"You know, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide in the morning planning, I'm going to become a criminal, and begin with the Louvre Museum," he explained.

"This isn't the first time they've done this," he said. "They have done previous crimes. They're self-assured and they believed, we might get away with this plan, and went for it."

Additionally demonstrating the professionalism of the thieves is treated as important, an elite police team with a "strong track record in cracking significant crimes" has been given responsibility with tracking them down.

Law enforcement have stated they think the heist is connected to a criminal organization.

Sophisticated gangs like these generally have two main goals, Paris prosecutor the prosecutor explained. "Either to act on behalf of a client, or to acquire valuable gems to perform illegal financial activities."

The expert believes it would be extremely difficult to sell the items as complete pieces, and he said stealing-to-order for a private collector is a scenario that only happens in fictional stories.

"Nobody wants to touch an item this recognizable," he stated. "It cannot be shown to your friends, you can't bequeath it to heirs, it cannot be sold."

Potential £10m Price Tag

The detective suggests the stolen items will be dismantled and broken up, including the gold and silver melted down and the jewels re-cut into less recognizable pieces that will be virtually impossible to trace back to the Paris heist.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, host of the digital series about historical jewelry and formerly worked as the famous fashion magazine's jewellery editor for many years, told the BBC the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most significant treasures from the institution's artifacts.

The "impressively sized flawless stones" would likely be dug out from the jewelry pieces and sold, she said, excluding the crown from the historical figure which features less valuable pieces incorporated within it and was considered "too recognizable to possess," she added.

This might account for why they left it behind during the escape, in addition to another piece, and found by authorities.

The imperial headpiece that was taken, features exceptionally uncommon organic pearls which are incredibly valuable, specialists confirm.

While the items have been described as being priceless, the expert anticipates they could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.

"They're destined to buyers who are prepared to take possession," she explained. "Authorities worldwide will search for these – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."

How much exactly would they generate in money if sold on? Regarding the potential value of the loot, Mr Brand stated the dismantled components could be worth "several million."

The jewels and removed precious metal could fetch as much as £10 million (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), according to an industry expert, senior official of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.

He told the BBC the perpetrators will require a trained specialist to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to change the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that were harder to trace might be marketed quickly and despite challenges to tell the precise value of all the stones taken, the bigger stones could be worth about half a million pounds per stone, he noted.

"There are at least four comparable in size, therefore combining all of those along with the precious metal, one could estimate reaching £10m," he said.

"The jewelry and luxury goods trade has buyers and plenty of customers operate in less regulated areas that don't ask regarding sources."

There are hopes that the stolen goods might resurface undamaged one day – yet this possibility are narrowing over time.

There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the London museum features a piece of jewelry previously stolen which eventually returned in an auction many years after.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens are extremely upset regarding the theft, expressing an emotional attachment to the jewels.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry because it's a matter concerning power, and that doesn't necessarily carry positive associations within French culture," a heritage expert, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house the prestigious firm, stated