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French authorities are desperate to locate irreplaceable gemstones stolen from the Paris museum in a daring daylight robbery, yet authorities have warned it might be too late to save them.

At the heart of Paris over the weekend, burglars gained access to the most popular museum globally, making off with eight valued items then fleeing on scooters in a daring heist that lasted approximately eight minutes.

International art investigator a renowned specialist stated publicly he suspects the jewels may already be "dispersed", after being taken apart into hundreds of parts.

It is highly likely the pieces could be sold off for a fraction of their worth and smuggled out of France, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery

The thieves were professionals, Mr Brand believes, as demonstrated by the way they managed through the museum of the Louvre in record time.

"As you might expect, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide one day thinking, I should become a thief, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he noted.

"This isn't their initial robbery," he continued. "They've committed other burglaries. They're self-assured and they believed, we might get away with this plan, and went for it."

Additionally demonstrating the professionalism of the group is considered significant, a specialist police unit with a "high success rate in solving high-profile robberies" has been assigned with finding them.

Police officials have stated they think the heist is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Sophisticated gangs like these usually pursue two primary purposes, French prosecutor a senior official said. "Either they operate working for a client, or to obtain valuable gems to carry out money laundering operations."

Mr Brand thinks it would be impossible to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he said stealing-to-order for an individual buyer is a scenario that mainly exists in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to touch a piece so identifiable," he explained. "You can't display it to acquaintances, you can't bequeath it to heirs, it cannot be sold."

Potential £10m Value

The detective suggests the artifacts are likely broken down and broken up, along with gold elements and precious metals liquefied and the precious stones cut up into less recognizable pieces that could be virtually impossible to track back to the museum theft.

Gemstone expert Carol Woolton, who presents the digital series If Jewels Could Talk and was the prestigious publication's jewelry specialist for two decades, explained the thieves had "specifically chosen" the most important gemstones from the museum's holdings.

The "magnificent perfect gems" will probably be extracted from their settings and disposed of, she explained, except for the tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie which has smaller stones incorporated within it and was considered "too recognizable to possess," she added.

This could explain why it was dropped while fleeing, in addition to one other item, and found by authorities.

The imperial headpiece that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon authentic pearls which command enormous prices, experts say.

Although the artifacts have been described as having immeasurable worth, the historian anticipates they will be disposed of for a fraction of their worth.

"They will go to someone who are able to handle these," she explained. "Authorities worldwide will search for these – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."

How much exactly might they bring financially upon being marketed? Regarding the potential value of the loot, Mr Brand indicated the cut-up parts could be worth "several million."

The precious stones and taken gold could fetch up to a significant sum (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says an industry expert, managing director of 77 Diamonds, a digital jewelry retailer.

He told the BBC the thieves must have an experienced professional to extract the stones, and an expert gem cutter to modify the bigger identifiable gems.

Smaller stones that were not easily identifiable would be disposed of immediately and although difficult to determine the precise value of all the stones taken, the more significant gems might value around half a million pounds for individual pieces, he noted.

"Reports indicate at least four that large, therefore combining all of those together with the precious metal, one could estimate coming close to ten million," he concluded.

"The diamond and gemstone market is liquid and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that avoid questioning regarding sources."

There are hopes that the artifacts could reappear undamaged one day – although such expectations are diminishing as the days pass.

Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the V&A Museum includes an item of jewellery stolen in 1948 that later resurfaced in a public event several decades later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens are deeply shocked regarding the theft, demonstrating a personal connection to the jewels.

"There isn't always like jewellery because it's a question of privilege, and this isn't typically have a good connotation within French culture," Alexandre Leger, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, explained