🔗 Share this article

Police in France are making every effort to locate extremely valuable jewels taken from the Paris museum in a audacious daylight robbery, although specialists have warned it might be too late to get them back.

In Paris this past Sunday, burglars broke into the world's most-visited museum, stealing eight precious artifacts and getting away using scooters in a bold robbery that lasted approximately eight minutes.

Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told the BBC he believes the artifacts could be "long gone", once separated into numerous components.

There is a strong chance the pieces could be sold off for a fraction of their worth and taken out of the country, several authorities have said.

Potential Suspects Behind the Heist

The perpetrators were professionals, Mr Brand believes, evidenced by the fact they were in and out of the building with such efficiency.

"Realistically speaking, for regular people, you don't wake up in the morning believing, I should become a thief, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he said.

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

In another sign the expertise of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in cracking significant crimes" has been tasked with tracking them down.

Law enforcement have stated they think the theft relates to a sophisticated gang.

Organised crime groups of this type usually pursue two primary purposes, legal official the prosecutor stated. "Either to act for the benefit of a sponsor, or to obtain valuable gems to perform financial crimes."

Mr Brand thinks it would be impossible to sell the items intact, and he noted stealing-to-order for an individual buyer represents a situation that typically occurs in movies.

"Nobody wants to acquire a piece this recognizable," he elaborated. "It cannot be shown to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to family, there's no market for it."

Estimated £10m Worth

Mr Brand believes the stolen items will be dismantled and disassembled, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the precious stones cut up into less recognizable pieces that could be nearly impossible to trace back to the Paris heist.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, host of the podcast focusing on gemstones and previously served as the prestigious publication's jewelry specialist for 20 years, told the BBC the perpetrators had "cherry-picked" the most important gemstones from the Louvre's collection.

The "magnificent flawless stones" would likely be extracted from the jewelry pieces and disposed of, she noted, with the exception of the tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie which contains smaller gems set in it and was "too hot to possess," she explained.

This could explain why they left it behind as they got away, along with a second artifact, and found by authorities.

Empress Eugenie's tiara that disappeared, contains extremely rare natural pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

Even though the pieces are considered being priceless, the historian believes they to be sold for a small percentage of their value.

"They're destined to someone who are able to handle these," she stated. "Many people will seek for these – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."

The precise value might they bring in money when disposed of? Regarding the potential value of the haul, the expert stated the separated elements could be worth "several million."

The precious stones and taken gold may bring as much as ten million pounds (millions in euros; thirteen million dollars), according to a jewelry specialist, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, a digital jewelry retailer.

He told the BBC the perpetrators would need a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to change the larger recognisable stones.

Less noticeable gems that couldn't be easily recognized would be disposed of right away and despite challenges to tell the precise value of all the stones stolen, the more significant gems might value around £500,000 per stone, he said.

"There are a minimum of four comparable in size, so adding each of them together with the gold, you are probably coming close to £10m," he said.

"The gemstone and gemstone market is active and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that don't ask too many questions."

Some optimism remains that the artifacts may be found in original condition eventually – yet this possibility are narrowing as the days pass.

Historical examples exist – a historical showcase at the cultural institution includes a piece of jewelry taken decades ago before reappearing in a public event several decades later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens are extremely upset about the museum robbery, expressing a cultural bond with the artifacts.

"There isn't always like jewellery because it's a question of privilege, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation in France," Alexandre Leger, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house the prestigious firm, stated