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French authorities are urgently trying to recover extremely valuable gemstones stolen from the Paris museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, yet authorities caution it could be past the point of recovery to recover them.

In Paris over the weekend, thieves gained access to the top tourist attraction worldwide, taking eight valued items then fleeing via motor scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in eight minutes.

Dutch art detective an expert in the field stated publicly he suspects the stolen items are likely "long gone", after being taken apart into numerous components.

There is a strong chance the artifacts will be sold for a fraction of their worth and smuggled out of France, several authorities have said.

Who May Be Behind the Robbery

The group acted professionally, as the detective stated, evidenced by the speed with which they got in and out of the museum in record time.

"You know, for an average individual, you don't wake up overnight planning, I'm going to become a burglar, let's start with the world-famous museum," he said.

"This likely isn't the first time they've done this," he added. "They've carried out previous crimes. They feel certain and they thought, we could succeed with this, and proceeded."

In another sign the skill of the thieves is being taken seriously, an elite police team with a "high success rate in cracking high-profile robberies" has been given responsibility with tracking them down.

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

Criminal organizations such as these usually pursue two main goals, legal official a senior official said. "Either to act on behalf of a sponsor, or to obtain valuable gems to conduct illegal financial activities."

The detective suggests it is extremely difficult to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he explained commissioned theft for a private collector is something that typically occurs in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to handle an artifact so identifiable," he stated. "It cannot be shown to your friends, it cannot be passed to your children, it cannot be sold."

Possible £10m Value

The detective suggests the objects are likely broken down and disassembled, including the gold and silver melted down and the jewels cut up into smaller components that would be virtually impossible to track back to the museum theft.

Gemstone expert a renowned expert, host of the digital series If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for 20 years, stated the thieves had "specifically chosen" the most important treasures from the Louvre's collection.

The "impressively sized perfect gems" will probably be extracted from their settings and disposed of, she noted, excluding the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which features less valuable pieces set in it and was "too dangerous to possess," she added.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned as they got away, together with a second artifact, and recovered by police.

Empress Eugenie's tiara that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon authentic pearls which have a very large value, experts say.

Although the artifacts have been described as being priceless, the expert anticipates they to be sold for a minimal part of their true price.

"They'll likely end up to individuals who are able to take possession," she stated. "Authorities worldwide will search for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept any amount available."

The precise value could they fetch financially upon being marketed? Regarding the possible worth of the loot, the expert stated the dismantled components might value "multiple millions."

The jewels and removed precious metal might achieve approximately ten million pounds (millions in euros; millions in US currency), according to Tobias Kormind, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, a digital jewelry retailer.

The expert explained the thieves must have an experienced professional to remove the gems, and an expert gem cutter to change the bigger identifiable gems.

Smaller stones that were harder to trace could be sold right away and while it was hard to estimate the exact price of all the stones stolen, the more significant gems might value about a significant amount each, he noted.

"There are at least four comparable in size, thus totaling each of them up plus the gold, it's likely coming close to ten million," he said.

"The gemstone and gemstone market is liquid and numerous purchasers exist within gray markets that don't ask too many questions."

There are hopes that the stolen goods could reappear intact in the future – but those hopes are narrowing as the days pass.

Historical examples exist – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum displays a piece of jewelry previously stolen before reappearing in a sale many years after.

What is certain are numerous French citizens are extremely upset about the museum robbery, having felt a personal connection to the jewels.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry since it represents a question of authority, and this isn't typically carry positive associations in France," a jewelry authority, director of historical collections at established French company Maison Vever, stated