Police in France are desperate to recover irreplaceable gemstones robbed from the Louvre Museum in a daring broad daylight theft, but experts are concerned it may already be impossible to recover them.
In Paris this past Sunday, burglars entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, stealing eight cherished pieces and getting away on scooters in a audacious theft that lasted approximately under ten minutes.
Dutch art detective Arthur Brand expressed his view he suspects the stolen items may already be "already dismantled", after being taken apart into hundreds of parts.
Experts suggest the stolen jewels may be disposed of for a small part of their true price and smuggled out of the country, additional specialists have said.
The group acted professionally, as the detective stated, evidenced by the fact they were through the museum of the Louvre so quickly.
"As you might expect, as a normal person, one doesn't just get up one day planning, I will become a criminal, let's start with the Louvre," he explained.
"This isn't their first heist," he said. "They have done previous crimes. They're self-assured and they believed, we could succeed with this plan, and proceeded."
As further evidence 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 tasked with locating the perpetrators.
Authorities have indicated they think the heist relates to a sophisticated gang.
Sophisticated gangs like these usually pursue two primary purposes, legal official Laure Beccuau explained. "Either they operate for the benefit of a financier, or to obtain expensive jewelry to perform illegal financial activities."
Mr Brand thinks it seems impossible to market the jewels in their original form, and he explained targeted robbery for an individual buyer is a scenario that typically occurs in fictional stories.
"No one desires to handle a piece so identifiable," he stated. "You cannot show it to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to your children, it cannot be sold."
Mr Brand believes the artifacts will be dismantled and broken up, including the gold and precious metals liquefied and the precious stones cut up into less recognizable pieces that will be nearly impossible to track back to the Louvre robbery.
Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, creator of the digital series about historical jewelry and was Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for two decades, explained the robbers had "carefully selected" the most important gemstones from the Louvre's collection.
The "impressively sized exquisite jewels" would likely be removed from their settings and sold, she said, with the exception of the headpiece of the French empress which has smaller stones set in it and proved to be "too hot to possess," she added.
This might account for the reason it was abandoned as they got away, in addition to another piece, and recovered by police.
The royal crown that was taken, contains extremely rare natural pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.
While the items are regarded as being beyond valuation, Ms Woolton anticipates they could be marketed for a minimal part of their true price.
"They're destined to someone who are prepared to handle these," she stated. "Many people will seek for these items – they will take what they can get."
How much exactly might they bring as payment when disposed of? Concerning the possible worth of the haul, Mr Brand said the separated elements could be worth "many millions."
The jewels and removed precious metal could fetch approximately £10 million (€11.52m; thirteen million dollars), says Tobias Kormind, senior official of a prominent jeweler, a digital jewelry retailer.
The expert explained the perpetrators must have an experienced professional to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to alter the bigger identifiable gems.
Less noticeable gems that were harder to trace would be disposed of quickly and while it was hard to determine the specific worth of all the stones stolen, the larger ones might value approximately half a million pounds for individual pieces, he noted.
"Reports indicate at least four that large, so adding all of those along with the precious metal, you are probably coming close to £10m," he said.
"The gemstone and luxury goods trade has buyers and numerous purchasers exist in less regulated areas that avoid questioning regarding sources."
There are hopes that the stolen goods could reappear in original condition eventually – but those hopes are fading over time.
There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the V&A Museum features an item of jewellery previously stolen before reappearing in a public event much later.
Definitely are numerous French citizens are extremely upset about the museum robbery, having felt a personal connection with the artifacts.
"French people don't always appreciate jewelry because it's an issue of power, and which doesn't always receive favorable interpretation within French culture," a heritage expert, head of heritage at established French company the prestigious firm, explained
Music enthusiast and cultural critic with a passion for uncovering emerging trends and sharing in-depth analyses.
