Can France Recover Its Invaluable Crown Jewels – Or Has It Become Too Late?
Police in France are desperate to retrieve irreplaceable treasures stolen from the Louvre Museum in a daring daytime heist, although specialists have warned it might be impossible to save them.
At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers entered by force the world's most-visited museum, stealing eight precious artifacts then fleeing via motor scooters in a audacious theft that took about just minutes.
Expert art detective a renowned specialist stated publicly he believes the artifacts may already be "dispersed", having been broken up into numerous components.
There is a strong chance the stolen jewels may be disposed of for a fraction of their worth and taken out of French territory, additional specialists noted.
Potential Suspects Behind the Heist
The perpetrators were professionals, as the detective stated, evidenced by the fact they were in and out of the Louvre so quickly.
"You know, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide one day believing, I should become a burglar, and begin with the world-famous museum," he said.
"This won't be the first time they've done this," he continued. "They have done other burglaries. They're self-assured and they thought, we might get away with this, and went for it."
Additionally demonstrating the expertise of the group is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "strong track record in cracking significant crimes" has been tasked with tracking them down.
Police officials have indicated they think the robbery is linked to a sophisticated gang.
Sophisticated gangs such as these usually pursue two primary purposes, legal official the prosecutor explained. "Either they operate working for a financier, or to obtain precious stones to conduct financial crimes."
Mr Brand thinks it would be extremely difficult to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he said targeted robbery for an individual buyer is something that typically occurs in fictional stories.
"Few people wish to acquire an artifact so identifiable," he elaborated. "It cannot be shown to your friends, you can't bequeath it to heirs, it cannot be sold."
Estimated £10m Price Tag
The expert thinks the stolen items will be taken apart and broken up, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the gems re-cut into smaller components that would be virtually impossible to trace back to the Louvre robbery.
Gemstone expert Carol Woolton, who presents the audio program focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as the famous fashion magazine's gemstone expert for many years, told the BBC the thieves had "carefully selected" the most valuable gemstones from the Louvre's collection.
The "impressively sized exquisite jewels" will probably be extracted of their mountings and marketed, she said, except for the tiara belonging to the French empress which features less valuable pieces mounted in it and was considered "too hot to handle," she explained.
This might account for why it was dropped during the escape, in addition to one other item, and found by authorities.
Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, has rare natural pearls which have a very large value, experts say.
Although the artifacts have been described as having immeasurable worth, the expert expects them could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.
"They will go to individuals who are able to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these items – the thieves will accept what they can get."
How much exactly could they fetch financially when disposed of? Concerning the estimated price of the haul, the detective indicated the separated elements may amount to "several million."
The jewels and removed precious metal could fetch approximately ten million pounds (€11.52m; thirteen million dollars), says a jewelry specialist, chief executive of an established company, an online jeweller.
The expert explained the perpetrators would need a skilled expert to separate the jewels, and an expert gem cutter to change the bigger identifiable gems.
Minor components that were harder to trace would be disposed of quickly and although difficult to determine the exact price of every gem removed, the larger ones might value approximately half a million pounds for individual pieces, he said.
"Reports indicate at least four that large, so adding all those pieces together with the precious metal, you are probably coming close to the estimated figure," he stated.
"The gemstone and gemstone market is active and there are many buyers on the fringes that avoid questioning about origins."
There are hopes that the artifacts might resurface in original condition in the future – yet this possibility are diminishing as the days pass.
Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the cultural institution features an artifact taken decades ago which eventually returned in a public event much later.
Without doubt are numerous French citizens feel profoundly disturbed by the Louvre heist, expressing a cultural bond toward the treasures.
"There isn't always value gems since it represents a matter concerning privilege, and that doesn't necessarily receive favorable interpretation within French culture," a jewelry authority, director of historical collections at French jeweller the historical business, stated
