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French authorities are making every effort to locate irreplaceable gemstones taken from the Louvre in a daring daytime heist, but experts caution it could be too late to recover them.

At the heart of Paris on Sunday, thieves entered by force the most popular museum globally, making off with eight cherished pieces before escaping on scooters in a bold robbery that lasted approximately under ten minutes.

International art investigator an expert in the field expressed his view he suspects the jewels may already be "already dismantled", once separated into hundreds of parts.

Experts suggest the pieces may be disposed of for a small part of their true price and illegally transported from France, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Theft

The perpetrators are experienced criminals, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the speed with which they got in and out of the building in record time.

"Realistically speaking, as a normal person, you don't wake up in the morning believing, I should become a burglar, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he said.

"This isn't their first heist," he continued. "They've committed other burglaries. They're self-assured and they calculated, it might work out with this, and took the chance."

Additionally demonstrating the professionalism of the gang is treated as important, a dedicated task force with a "proven effectiveness in resolving high-profile robberies" has been assigned with finding them.

Law enforcement have said they suspect the theft is connected to an organised crime network.

Organised crime groups like these typically have two objectives, Paris prosecutor a senior official said. "Either to act working for a financier, or to acquire precious stones to conduct money laundering operations."

The expert believes it is highly unlikely to dispose of the artifacts in their original form, and he said targeted robbery for an individual buyer is something that mainly exists in movies.

"Nobody wants to handle a piece so hot," he stated. "It cannot be shown to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to your children, there's no market for it."

Potential £10m Price Tag

The detective suggests the stolen items will be taken apart and separated, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the jewels re-cut into smaller stones that would be nearly impossible to connect to the Paris heist.

Gemstone expert an authority in the field, creator of the podcast about historical jewelry and previously served as Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for two decades, explained the thieves had "cherry-picked" the most significant treasures from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large perfect gems" are expected to be extracted of their mountings and sold, she noted, with the exception of the crown from the French empress which has smaller stones incorporated within it and was "too dangerous to handle," she added.

This might account for why they left it behind as they got away, along with a second artifact, and located by officials.

The royal crown that was taken, contains extremely rare natural pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

Even though the pieces are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the historian anticipates they to be sold for a small percentage of their value.

"They're destined to individuals who are able to take possession," she stated. "Authorities worldwide will search for these items – they will take whatever price is offered."

How much exactly could they fetch as payment if sold on? Concerning the estimated price of the loot, the detective indicated the cut-up parts might value "multiple millions."

The gems and gold stolen might achieve up to a significant sum (€11.52m; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, chief executive of a prominent jeweler, a digital jewelry retailer.

He told the BBC the gang will require a skilled expert to remove the gems, and a professional diamond cutter to modify the bigger identifiable gems.

Smaller stones that couldn't be easily recognized would be disposed of quickly and despite challenges to determine the precise value of each piece stolen, the larger ones could be worth approximately half a million pounds each, he noted.

"Reports indicate no fewer than four comparable in size, so adding all those pieces up plus the precious metal, one could estimate reaching £10m," he concluded.

"The jewelry and gemstone market has buyers and plenty of customers operate on the fringes that don't ask regarding sources."

Hope persists that the stolen goods could reappear undamaged in the future – yet this possibility are narrowing as the days pass.

Similar cases have occurred – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum displays an artifact stolen in 1948 that later resurfaced in a public event much later.

Definitely are numerous French citizens are extremely upset about the museum robbery, expressing a cultural bond with the artifacts.

"We don't necessarily appreciate jewelry as it symbolizes a question of authority, and that doesn't necessarily receive favorable interpretation among French people," a heritage expert, director of historical collections at Parisian jewelry house the prestigious firm, explained