🔗 Share this article

Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to locate irreplaceable jewels taken from the Louvre in a brazen daytime heist, but experts have warned it could be past the point of recovery to save them.

At the heart of Paris over the weekend, thieves entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, stealing eight valued items and getting away on scooters in a audacious theft that lasted approximately just minutes.

Expert art detective a renowned specialist stated publicly he suspects the jewels are likely "long gone", having been broken up into many fragments.

Experts suggest the pieces may be disposed of for a mere percentage of their value and smuggled out of the country, several authorities have said.

Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery

The thieves acted professionally, as the detective stated, shown by the speed with which they got through the museum of the Louvre in record time.

"Realistically speaking, for regular people, one doesn't just get up one day planning, I will become a thief, choosing as first target the world-famous museum," he said.

"This won't be the first time they've done this," he added. "They have done things before. They are confident and they thought, we could succeed with this attempt, and proceeded."

As further evidence the expertise of the thieves is treated as important, an elite police team with a "high success rate in solving significant crimes" has been tasked with locating the perpetrators.

Law enforcement have said they believe the theft is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Organised crime groups like these generally have two objectives, Paris prosecutor a senior official said. "Either to act for the benefit of a sponsor, or to secure precious stones to carry out money laundering operations."

Mr Brand thinks it is highly unlikely to market the jewels in their original form, and he noted targeted robbery for a specific client represents a situation that mainly exists in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to handle an item this recognizable," he elaborated. "It cannot be shown publicly, it cannot be passed to your children, you cannot sell it."

Estimated £10m Value

Mr Brand believes the artifacts are likely broken down and separated, including the gold and silver melted down and the gems divided into smaller stones that could be virtually impossible to track back to the Paris heist.

Gemstone expert a renowned expert, host of the audio program If Jewels Could Talk and previously served as Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for many years, explained the robbers had "specifically chosen" the most valuable gemstones from the Louvre's collection.

The "beautiful large exquisite jewels" are expected to be extracted from the jewelry pieces and disposed of, she explained, excluding the headpiece of the historical figure which features less valuable pieces mounted in it and was "too recognizable to possess," she continued.

This could explain the reason it was abandoned as they got away, together with another piece, and found by authorities.

Empress Eugenie's tiara that was taken, has rare authentic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.

Even though the pieces have been described as being beyond valuation, the expert anticipates they to be sold for a minimal part of their true price.

"They will go to someone who are prepared to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."

The precise value might they bring as payment upon being marketed? Regarding the potential value of the haul, the detective stated the separated elements may amount to "many millions."

The jewels and taken gold might achieve as much as a significant sum (millions in euros; millions in US currency), stated by Tobias Kormind, chief executive of a prominent jeweler, a digital jewelry retailer.

He stated the gang must have a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to modify the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold immediately and despite challenges to determine the exact price of every gem removed, the bigger stones might value around half a million pounds per stone, he said.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four comparable in size, therefore combining each of them up plus the gold, you are probably approaching ten million," he concluded.

"The gemstone and precious stone industry is liquid and there are many buyers on the fringes that avoid questioning too many questions."

Hope persists that the artifacts may be found undamaged eventually – yet this possibility are narrowing over time.

Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the London museum includes an item of jewellery previously stolen that later resurfaced in an auction much later.

What is certain is many in France are deeply shocked by the Louvre heist, having felt a cultural bond toward the treasures.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry because it's an issue of authority, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation within French culture," Alexandre Leger, director of historical collections at established French company the prestigious firm, explained