Is France Able to Retrieve Its Invaluable Historic Jewels – Or Has It Become Too Late?
Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to locate extremely valuable treasures taken from the Paris museum in a brazen daytime heist, although specialists have warned it may already be impossible to save them.
In Paris on Sunday, thieves broke into the most popular museum globally, stealing eight precious artifacts and getting away via motor scooters in a bold robbery that lasted approximately just minutes.
International art investigator Arthur Brand expressed his view he feared the artifacts are likely "dispersed", having been broken up into numerous components.
It is highly likely the stolen jewels may be disposed of for a small part of their true price and smuggled out of the country, additional specialists indicated.
Potential Suspects Behind the Theft
The perpetrators are experienced criminals, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the fact they were through the museum of the building so quickly.
"As you might expect, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide one day planning, I'm going to become a criminal, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he said.
"This isn't their initial robbery," he added. "They have done things before. They're self-assured and they believed, we could succeed with this, and took the chance."
In another sign the expertise of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in resolving major theft cases" has been assigned with finding them.
Authorities have indicated they suspect the robbery is linked to a criminal organization.
Sophisticated gangs of this type generally have two primary purposes, French prosecutor a senior official stated. "Either they operate working for a client, or to secure expensive jewelry to conduct illegal financial activities."
Mr Brand thinks it seems highly unlikely to market the jewels in their original form, and he said stealing-to-order for a specific client represents a situation that typically occurs in fictional stories.
"Few people wish to acquire an item so identifiable," he explained. "You can't display it to your friends, you cannot leave it to family, you cannot sell it."
Possible £10m Worth
The detective suggests the stolen items will be taken apart and separated, along with gold elements and silver melted down and the gems divided into smaller stones that could be nearly impossible to connect to the Louvre robbery.
Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, host of the audio program focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as the prestigious publication's gemstone expert for many years, stated the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most significant treasures from the museum's holdings.
The "beautiful large exquisite jewels" would likely be dug out from their settings and disposed of, she explained, except for the headpiece of the French empress which contains smaller gems set in it and proved to be "too dangerous to keep," she added.
This potentially clarifies the reason it was abandoned while fleeing, along with another piece, and found by authorities.
The imperial headpiece that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon authentic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.
While the items are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the expert expects them could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.
"They'll likely end up to buyers who are prepared to acquire such items," she said. "Authorities worldwide will search for these items – they will take any amount available."
The precise value could they fetch as payment upon being marketed? Regarding the possible worth of the stolen goods, Mr Brand indicated the cut-up parts might value "multiple millions."
The gems and taken gold may bring up to ten million pounds (over eleven million euros; thirteen million dollars), says Tobias Kormind, managing director of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer.
He told the BBC the perpetrators would need a trained specialist to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to alter the more noticeable pieces.
Minor components that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold quickly and while it was hard to determine the specific worth of all the stones removed, the more significant gems could be worth around £500,000 per stone, he explained.
"Reports indicate at least four comparable in size, therefore combining all of those along with the gold, it's likely coming close to the estimated figure," he said.
"The jewelry and luxury goods trade has buyers and plenty of customers operate on the fringes that won't inquire regarding sources."
Hope persists that the stolen goods could reappear in original condition one day – although such expectations are diminishing as the days pass.
There is a precedent – a jewelry display at the London museum displays an artifact taken decades ago before reappearing in a public event many years after.
What is certain are numerous French citizens feel profoundly disturbed about the museum robbery, expressing an emotional attachment with the artifacts.
"There isn't always value gems as it symbolizes a matter concerning authority, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation within French culture," a jewelry authority, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, stated