🔗 Share this article

Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to recover irreplaceable gemstones taken from the Louvre in a audacious daylight robbery, although specialists have warned it could be too late to recover them.

At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers gained access to the world's most-visited museum, taking eight cherished pieces before escaping on scooters in a bold robbery that took about under ten minutes.

Expert art detective an expert in the field expressed his view he suspects the artifacts may already be "dispersed", once separated into hundreds of parts.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels will be sold for a fraction of their worth and taken out of France, additional specialists have said.

Who May Be Behind the Robbery

The thieves are experienced criminals, according to the expert, evidenced by the speed with which they got through the museum of the building with such efficiency.

"As you might expect, as a normal person, one doesn't just get up in the morning believing, I will become a criminal, and begin with the Louvre Museum," he said.

"This isn't their first heist," he said. "They've carried out things before. They're self-assured and they believed, it might work out with this plan, and went for it."

Additionally demonstrating the skill of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "high success rate in resolving significant crimes" has been assigned with finding them.

Authorities have stated they suspect the robbery relates to an organised crime network.

Criminal organizations like these typically have two main goals, French prosecutor a senior official explained. "Either to act on behalf of a sponsor, or to secure precious stones to conduct money laundering operations."

The detective suggests it seems highly unlikely to dispose of the artifacts intact, and he noted stealing-to-order for a specific client is a scenario that typically occurs in Hollywood films.

"Nobody wants to touch a piece so hot," he elaborated. "It cannot be shown to your friends, you cannot leave it to family, it cannot be sold."

Potential £10m Worth

The expert thinks the objects will be dismantled and broken up, including the gold and precious metals liquefied and the jewels divided into smaller stones that will be nearly impossible to track back to the Paris heist.

Gemstone expert a renowned expert, creator of the digital series focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as the prestigious publication's jewelry specialist for two decades, explained the perpetrators had "carefully selected" the most important gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large perfect gems" are expected to be dug out of their mountings and marketed, she explained, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which has smaller stones set in it and was "too dangerous to handle," she added.

This potentially clarifies why they left it behind as they got away, in addition to one other item, and found by authorities.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, contains extremely rare authentic pearls which are incredibly valuable, experts say.

While the items are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the historian anticipates they to be sold for a minimal part of their true price.

"They will go to individuals who are able to acquire such items," she stated. "Authorities worldwide will search for these items – they will take what they can get."

The precise value could they fetch in money when disposed of? Regarding the possible worth of the loot, the expert indicated the separated elements might value "many millions."

The gems and gold stolen could fetch up to a significant sum (€11.52m; millions in US currency), according to an industry expert, managing director of a prominent jeweler, a digital jewelry retailer.

He stated the gang will require a trained specialist to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to alter the bigger identifiable gems.

Smaller stones that were harder to trace would be disposed of quickly and despite challenges to determine the specific worth of all the stones stolen, the larger ones could be worth around £500,000 for individual pieces, he explained.

"There are no fewer than four comparable in size, so adding all of those up plus the gold, you are probably approaching ten million," he concluded.

"The jewelry and luxury goods trade is active and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that don't ask regarding sources."

Hope persists that the artifacts may be found intact one day – but those hopes are fading with each passing day.

Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the V&A Museum features an item of jewellery previously stolen before reappearing in a public event several decades later.

What is certain are numerous French citizens are deeply shocked regarding the theft, demonstrating a personal connection toward the treasures.

"There isn't always value gems since it represents a question of power, and that doesn't necessarily carry positive associations in France," a heritage expert, curatorial leader at French jeweller the historical business, stated