Is France Able to Retrieve Its Precious Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?
French authorities are desperate to recover priceless treasures stolen from the Louvre in a audacious daylight robbery, although specialists have warned it may already be impossible to save them.
In Paris on Sunday, burglars entered by force the most popular museum globally, stealing eight cherished pieces then fleeing on scooters in a bold robbery that lasted approximately eight minutes.
International art investigator an expert in the field stated publicly he suspects the stolen items are likely "dispersed", having been broken up into hundreds of parts.
It is highly likely the artifacts may be disposed of for a fraction of their worth and taken out of French territory, several authorities have said.
Who May Be Behind the Robbery
The group were professionals, Mr Brand believes, evidenced by the fact they were through the museum of the museum in record time.
"You know, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide in the morning believing, I will become a thief, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he noted.
"This won't be the first time they've done this," he added. "They've committed previous crimes. They are confident and they calculated, it might work out with this plan, and went for it."
As further evidence the professionalism of the thieves is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "strong track record in solving significant crimes" has been tasked with finding them.
Police officials have indicated they believe the heist relates to a sophisticated gang.
Sophisticated gangs like these typically have two primary purposes, legal official Laure Beccuau said. "Either they operate working for a client, or to obtain precious stones to conduct financial crimes."
The detective suggests it is highly unlikely to sell the items in their original form, and he noted commissioned theft for an individual buyer is something that mainly exists in movies.
"Nobody wants to acquire an artifact so hot," he explained. "You can't display it to acquaintances, you cannot leave it to family, it cannot be sold."
Estimated £10m Price Tag
The detective suggests the objects are likely broken down and disassembled, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the precious stones divided into smaller stones that could be extremely difficult to track back to the Louvre robbery.
Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, who presents the podcast about historical jewelry and was the prestigious publication's gemstone expert for two decades, told the BBC the perpetrators had "cherry-picked" the most significant gemstones from the institution's artifacts.
The "impressively sized flawless stones" will probably be removed from the jewelry pieces and sold, she said, excluding the crown from Empress Eugénie which features less valuable pieces mounted in it and was "too recognizable to handle," she continued.
This could explain why it was dropped while fleeing, along with a second artifact, and recovered by police.
Empress Eugenie's tiara that was taken, has rare organic pearls which have a very large value, experts say.
While the items have been described as being priceless, the expert expects them will be disposed of for a fraction of their worth.
"They'll likely end up to buyers who are able to take possession," she stated. "Everyone will be looking for these items – they'll settle for any amount available."
What specific amount would they generate financially when disposed of? Concerning the estimated price of the stolen goods, the expert indicated the separated elements could be worth "many millions."
The jewels and gold stolen could fetch as much as £10 million (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, managing director of 77 Diamonds, an internet-based gem dealer.
He told the BBC the perpetrators will require a trained specialist to separate the jewels, and a skilled stone worker to change the bigger identifiable gems.
Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable would be disposed of quickly and despite challenges to determine the specific worth of all the stones stolen, the bigger stones may amount to approximately half a million pounds for individual pieces, he explained.
"Reports indicate no fewer than four of that size, so adding each of them up plus the gold components, you are probably coming close to £10m," he concluded.
"The jewelry and luxury goods trade is active and there are many buyers within gray markets that won't inquire too many questions."
Some optimism remains that the stolen goods may be found intact one day – but those hopes are diminishing over time.
There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the V&A Museum displays a piece of jewelry stolen in 1948 that later resurfaced in a sale many years after.
Without doubt are numerous French citizens are extremely upset regarding the theft, having felt a cultural bond to the jewels.
"We don't necessarily like jewellery as it symbolizes a question of authority, and which doesn't always carry positive associations in France," a jewelry authority, director of historical collections at French jeweller the historical business, explained