Is France Able to Retrieve Its Invaluable Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?

French authorities are urgently trying to retrieve extremely valuable gemstones robbed from the Paris museum in a daring daytime heist, yet authorities caution it might be past the point of recovery to recover them.

At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers broke into the world's most-visited museum, stealing eight precious artifacts before escaping on scooters in a audacious theft that lasted approximately under ten minutes.

Expert art detective an expert in the field expressed his view he believes the artifacts are likely "dispersed", once separated into many fragments.

Experts suggest the artifacts will be sold for a small part of their true price and illegally transported from France, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Theft

The group are experienced criminals, as the detective stated, shown by the fact they were in and out of the museum with such efficiency.

"As you might expect, for regular people, people don't suddenly decide in the morning thinking, I should become a burglar, and begin with the Louvre," he explained.

"This isn't the first time they've done this," he added. "They've committed things before. They're self-assured and they believed, we might get away with this, and went for it."

As further evidence the professionalism of the gang is being taken seriously, a dedicated task force with a "proven effectiveness in resolving significant crimes" has been assigned with tracking them down.

Law enforcement have stated they suspect the robbery is linked to an organised crime network.

Organised crime groups such as these usually pursue two main goals, Paris prosecutor the prosecutor explained. "Either they operate for the benefit of a financier, or to obtain valuable gems to carry out financial crimes."

Mr Brand thinks it seems impossible to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he explained commissioned theft for a private collector is something that only happens in Hollywood films.

"Nobody wants to handle an item so hot," he elaborated. "It cannot be shown publicly, it cannot be passed to your children, there's no market for it."

Estimated £10m Price Tag

The detective suggests the stolen items will be dismantled and broken up, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the precious stones cut up into less recognizable pieces that would be virtually impossible to connect to the Louvre robbery.

Historical jewelry specialist an authority in the field, who presents the audio program If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as the prestigious publication's jewellery editor for 20 years, explained the thieves had "cherry-picked" the most significant gemstones from the museum's holdings.

The "beautiful large perfect gems" would likely be extracted from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she explained, except for the crown from Empress Eugénie which contains smaller gems mounted in it and proved to be "too dangerous to keep," she continued.

This could explain the reason it was abandoned while fleeing, along with a second artifact, and recovered by police.

The royal crown that was taken, has rare authentic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.

While the items have been described as being priceless, the expert expects them could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.

"They're destined to buyers who is willing to acquire such items," she stated. "Everyone will be looking for these – they will take what they can get."

How much exactly could they fetch financially upon being marketed? Concerning the estimated price of the haul, Mr Brand said the cut-up parts may amount to "many millions."

The gems and taken gold might achieve as much as ten million pounds (over eleven million euros; thirteen million dollars), says Tobias Kormind, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, an internet-based gem dealer.

He told the BBC the perpetrators would need a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to alter the more noticeable pieces.

Minor components that couldn't be easily recognized might be marketed quickly and although difficult to estimate the specific worth of every gem stolen, the larger ones could be worth around half a million pounds each, he noted.

"There are at least four comparable in size, thus totaling all those pieces along with the gold components, one could estimate coming close to £10m," he said.

"The diamond and luxury goods trade has buyers and numerous purchasers exist on the fringes that won't inquire too many questions."

There are hopes that the items might resurface undamaged one day – but those hopes are narrowing over time.

There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the London museum includes an item of jewellery stolen in 1948 before reappearing in an auction much later.

Without doubt is many in France are deeply shocked regarding the theft, having felt an emotional attachment to the jewels.

"There isn't always like jewellery since it represents a matter concerning privilege, and this isn't typically receive favorable interpretation among French people," a jewelry authority, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house the historical business, said

Debbie Watson
Debbie Watson

Business consultant with over a decade of experience in strategic planning and market analysis.