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Law enforcement in France are desperate to retrieve irreplaceable gemstones robbed from the Louvre Museum in a audacious daylight robbery, yet authorities caution it could be too late to recover them.

At the heart of Paris on Sunday, burglars broke into the most popular museum globally, making off with eight cherished pieces before escaping using scooters in a audacious theft that took about under ten minutes.

Dutch art detective a renowned specialist expressed his view he believes the stolen items may already be "long gone", after being taken apart into numerous components.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels could be sold off for a mere percentage of their value and illegally transported from France, several authorities noted.

Potential Suspects Behind the Heist

The group acted professionally, according to the expert, as demonstrated by the fact they were inside and outside of the building with such efficiency.

"You know, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide overnight thinking, I should become a thief, choosing as first target the Louvre," he explained.

"This isn't the first time they've done this," he said. "They have done other burglaries. They're self-assured and they believed, we could succeed with this, and went for it."

As further evidence the professionalism of the gang is considered significant, an elite police team with a "strong track record in cracking high-profile robberies" has been given responsibility with tracking them down.

Authorities have indicated they suspect the robbery is connected to a sophisticated gang.

Criminal organizations of this type usually pursue two main goals, French prosecutor the prosecutor stated. "Either they operate on behalf of a sponsor, or to obtain valuable gems to carry out money laundering operations."

The expert believes it would be extremely difficult to market the jewels intact, and he said targeted robbery for an individual buyer is a scenario that mainly exists in movies.

"Few people wish to touch a piece so identifiable," he stated. "You cannot show it publicly, it cannot be passed to heirs, you cannot sell it."

Possible £10m Value

The expert thinks the objects will be taken apart and separated, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the gems re-cut into smaller stones that could be nearly impossible to trace back to the Louvre robbery.

Gemstone expert a renowned expert, host of the digital series about historical jewelry and was Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for many years, told the BBC the thieves had "cherry-picked" the most valuable jewels from the institution's artifacts.

The "magnificent exquisite jewels" are expected to be dug out from the jewelry pieces and sold, she noted, with the exception of the headpiece of the French empress which contains smaller gems mounted in it and was "too dangerous to possess," she explained.

This potentially clarifies why it was dropped as they got away, together with one other item, and found by authorities.

The royal crown that was taken, has rare organic pearls which are incredibly valuable, specialists confirm.

Although the artifacts are considered having immeasurable worth, the historian believes they will be disposed of for a minimal part of their true price.

"They will go to buyers who is willing to handle these," she stated. "Authorities worldwide will search for these items – they will take what they can get."

How much exactly could they fetch in money when disposed of? Regarding the possible worth of the loot, the detective said the separated elements could be worth "several million."

The precious stones and gold stolen could fetch approximately ten million pounds (€11.52m; millions in US currency), stated by an industry expert, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, an internet-based gem dealer.

The expert explained the perpetrators will require an experienced professional to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to modify the bigger identifiable gems.

Smaller stones that couldn't be easily recognized might be marketed right away and while it was hard to estimate the specific worth of every gem stolen, the larger ones might value about half a million pounds each, he explained.

"Reports indicate at least four that large, therefore combining each of them together with the precious metal, it's likely approaching £10m," he concluded.

"The gemstone and luxury goods trade is liquid and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that don't ask too many questions."

There are hopes that the artifacts might resurface in original condition one day – but those hopes are fading as the days pass.

Historical examples exist – a historical showcase at the London museum displays an artifact previously stolen which eventually returned in a public event several decades later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens are deeply shocked about the museum robbery, having felt an emotional attachment to the jewels.

"French people don't always like jewellery as it symbolizes an issue of authority, and which doesn't always have a good connotation in France," a heritage expert, curatorial leader at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, stated