Will France Recover Its Precious Historic Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?

Law enforcement in France are making every effort to locate extremely valuable jewels robbed from the Paris museum in a daring daytime heist, yet authorities are concerned it might be too late to save them.

At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers gained access to the world's most-visited museum, making off with eight precious artifacts and getting away using scooters in a audacious theft that took about under ten minutes.

International art investigator a renowned specialist expressed his view he suspects the jewels could be "long gone", once separated into numerous components.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels will be sold for a small part of their true price and taken out of the country, several authorities noted.

Potential Suspects Behind the Robbery

The perpetrators were professionals, Mr Brand believes, shown by the speed with which they got inside and outside of the building in record time.

"Realistically speaking, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide one day believing, I'm going to become a burglar, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he explained.

"This likely isn't their first heist," he added. "They have done other burglaries. They're self-assured and they believed, we could succeed with this, and went for it."

Additionally demonstrating the expertise of the group is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "high success rate in solving high-profile robberies" has been tasked with locating the perpetrators.

Authorities have said they think the theft is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Sophisticated gangs such as these generally have two main goals, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. "Either to act on behalf of a financier, or to obtain expensive jewelry to conduct financial crimes."

The expert believes it seems extremely difficult to market the jewels in their original form, and he said targeted robbery for an individual buyer is a scenario that typically occurs in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to acquire an item this recognizable," he explained. "It cannot be shown to acquaintances, you can't bequeath it to heirs, you cannot sell it."

Estimated £10m Value

Mr Brand believes the artifacts will be dismantled and disassembled, including the gold and precious metals liquefied and the gems divided into smaller components that will be nearly impossible to track back to the Louvre robbery.

Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, host of the digital series about historical jewelry and previously served as Vogue magazine's jewelry specialist for two decades, stated the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most important jewels from the museum's holdings.

The "beautiful large perfect gems" will probably be dug out from their settings and sold, she noted, except for the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which has smaller stones mounted in it and was considered "too recognizable to possess," she added.

This could explain why they left it behind during the escape, together with another piece, and found by authorities.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, contains extremely rare organic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.

While the items are considered having immeasurable worth, the historian expects them to be sold for a minimal part of their true price.

"They're destined to individuals who are able to take possession," she said. "Everyone will be looking for these – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."

The precise value could they fetch as payment when disposed of? Concerning the estimated price of the stolen goods, the expert said the cut-up parts may amount to "several million."

The precious stones and removed precious metal may bring up to ten million pounds (millions in euros; $13.4m), says a jewelry specialist, senior official of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.

He stated the thieves will require an experienced professional to separate the jewels, and a professional diamond cutter to modify the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that were harder to trace would be disposed of quickly and despite challenges to tell the exact price of each piece stolen, the bigger stones might value approximately a significant amount per stone, he noted.

"We know there are a minimum of four that large, thus totaling all those pieces up plus the gold, you are probably reaching £10m," he stated.

"The diamond and gemstone market has buyers and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that avoid questioning too many questions."

There are hopes that the stolen goods might resurface in original condition in the future – yet this possibility are diminishing with each passing day.

There is a precedent – the Cartier exhibition at the cultural institution displays an artifact taken decades ago before reappearing in an auction several decades later.

Without doubt includes the French public feel profoundly disturbed by the Louvre heist, demonstrating an emotional attachment toward the treasures.

"We don't necessarily appreciate jewelry as it symbolizes an issue of privilege, and this isn't typically carry positive associations in France," a jewelry authority, curatorial leader at French jeweller Maison Vever, explained

Emily Dudley
Emily Dudley

A tech enthusiast and journalist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and digital innovations.