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Police in France are making every effort to retrieve irreplaceable gemstones taken from the Louvre Museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, although specialists caution it might be impossible to recover them.

At the heart of Paris over the weekend, thieves broke into the top tourist attraction worldwide, stealing eight precious artifacts and getting away on scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in eight minutes.

Dutch art detective Arthur Brand expressed his view he believes the jewels could be "dispersed", once separated into many fragments.

Experts suggest the stolen jewels could be sold off for a mere percentage of their value and taken out of France, other experts indicated.

Who May Be Behind the Robbery

The thieves acted professionally, Mr Brand believes, evidenced by the fact they were inside and outside of the museum in record time.

"As you might expect, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide in the morning planning, I will become a criminal, and begin with the Louvre," he explained.

"This likely isn't their first heist," he continued. "They've carried out previous crimes. They're self-assured and they calculated, we could succeed with this, and took the chance."

Additionally demonstrating the expertise of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in solving high-profile robberies" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.

Law enforcement have said they suspect the heist is linked to an organised crime network.

Organised crime groups like these generally have two objectives, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. "Either to act working for a client, or to acquire expensive jewelry to carry out financial crimes."

The expert believes it is extremely difficult to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he explained stealing-to-order for a private collector represents a situation that only happens in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to handle an artifact so hot," he stated. "You can't display it publicly, you cannot leave it to heirs, you cannot sell it."

Estimated £10m Value

The expert thinks the artifacts are likely broken down and broken up, along with gold elements and precious metals liquefied and the jewels re-cut into less recognizable pieces that will be nearly impossible to connect to the museum theft.

Jewellery historian an authority in the field, who presents the podcast If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as the famous fashion magazine's gemstone expert for two decades, explained the thieves had "specifically chosen" the most valuable gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "magnificent perfect gems" will probably be removed of their mountings and disposed of, she noted, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which contains smaller gems incorporated within it and was considered "too recognizable to keep," she continued.

This might account for why it was dropped as they got away, along with another piece, and found by authorities.

The royal crown which was stolen, contains extremely rare natural pearls which are incredibly valuable, experts say.

Even though the pieces are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the historian anticipates they will be disposed of for a minimal part of their true price.

"They'll likely end up to individuals who are prepared to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these – the thieves will accept what they can get."

The precise value could they fetch in money if sold on? Regarding the estimated price of the loot, Mr Brand indicated the dismantled components might value "many millions."

The precious stones and gold stolen might achieve approximately a significant sum (over eleven million euros; thirteen million dollars), stated by Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds, an internet-based gem dealer.

The expert explained the perpetrators must have a skilled expert to separate the jewels, and an expert gem cutter to change the more noticeable pieces.

Smaller stones that were harder to trace could be sold immediately and although difficult to determine the specific worth of all the stones removed, the bigger stones might value about a significant amount per stone, he said.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four comparable in size, thus totaling all of those up plus the gold components, one could estimate reaching ten million," he said.

"The gemstone and precious stone industry is active and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that don't ask about origins."

Some optimism remains that the artifacts might resurface intact one day – yet this possibility are diminishing as the days pass.

There is a precedent – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum features an item of jewellery taken decades ago that later resurfaced in a sale many years after.

Without doubt is many in France are deeply shocked by the Louvre heist, expressing a personal connection to the jewels.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry since it represents an issue of privilege, and which doesn't always receive favorable interpretation within French culture," Alexandre Leger, head of heritage at established French company the prestigious firm, stated