🔗 Share this article Will France Retrieve Its Priceless Historic Jewels – Or Is It Too Late? French authorities are desperate to locate irreplaceable jewels robbed from the Paris museum in a audacious daylight robbery, although specialists have warned it might be impossible to get them back. At the heart of Paris over the weekend, thieves broke into the world's most-visited museum, taking eight valued items before escaping via motor scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in just minutes. Dutch art detective Arthur Brand stated publicly he feared the stolen items may already be "dispersed", once separated into hundreds of parts. It is highly likely the artifacts may be disposed of for a mere percentage of their value and taken out of French territory, additional specialists have said. Who May Be Behind the Robbery The thieves acted professionally, Mr Brand believes, shown by the fact they were inside and outside of the building so quickly. "Realistically speaking, for regular people, people don't suddenly decide in the morning thinking, I will become a burglar, let's start with the world-famous museum," he noted. "This won't be their first heist," he said. "They have done other burglaries. They feel certain and they calculated, we might get away with this plan, and proceeded." As further evidence the professionalism of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in cracking high-profile robberies" has been tasked with finding them. Authorities have said they believe the robbery is connected to an organised crime network. Organised crime groups such as these typically have two objectives, French prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. "Either to act for the benefit of a client, or to acquire valuable gems to perform money laundering operations." The detective suggests it seems impossible to sell the items intact, and he said targeted robbery for a specific client is something that only happens in fictional stories. "No one desires to handle an artifact so hot," he explained. "You cannot show it publicly, it cannot be passed to your children, you cannot sell it." Potential £10m Value The detective suggests the stolen items are likely broken down and separated, with the gold and silver melted down and the jewels re-cut into smaller components that will be virtually impossible to trace back to the Paris heist. Jewellery historian a renowned expert, host of the digital series focusing on gemstones and previously served as the prestigious publication's jewellery editor for two decades, stated the robbers had "carefully selected" the most significant gemstones from the Louvre's collection. The "magnificent perfect gems" will probably be extracted from the jewelry pieces and disposed of, she said, except for the crown from the historical figure which contains smaller gems set in it and was "too hot to keep," she added. This might account for why they left it behind while fleeing, together with a second artifact, and recovered by police. The royal crown which was stolen, has rare organic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate. Although the artifacts are regarded as being beyond valuation, the historian believes they to be sold for a fraction of their worth. "They'll likely end up to buyers who are able to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these – they'll settle for any amount available." What specific amount might they bring in money upon being marketed? When asked about the potential value of the loot, the expert said the cut-up parts might value "multiple millions." The jewels and removed precious metal might achieve up to a significant sum (millions in euros; millions in US currency), stated by a jewelry specialist, senior official of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer. He told the BBC the perpetrators will require a trained specialist to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to change the more noticeable pieces. Smaller stones that couldn't be easily recognized might be marketed quickly and while it was hard to tell the exact price of all the stones stolen, the bigger stones may amount to around half a million pounds per stone, he explained. "There are a minimum of four that large, therefore combining each of them up plus the precious metal, it's likely reaching ten million," he said. "The gemstone and gemstone market has buyers and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that won't inquire regarding sources." There are hopes that the artifacts may be found in original condition eventually – but those hopes are narrowing with each passing day. There is a precedent – the Cartier exhibition at the V&A Museum displays a piece of jewelry taken decades ago before reappearing in an auction many years after. Definitely includes the French public are deeply shocked about the museum robbery, having felt a personal connection to the jewels. "We don't necessarily appreciate jewelry because it's an issue of power, and this isn't typically have a good connotation among French people," Alexandre Leger, director of historical collections at Parisian jewelry house the prestigious firm, explained