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French authorities are desperate to retrieve irreplaceable treasures stolen from the Louvre Museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, but experts are concerned it could be too late to save them.

Within the French capital over the weekend, robbers broke into the most popular museum globally, taking eight precious artifacts and getting away via motor scooters in a audacious theft that was completed in under ten minutes.

Expert art detective Arthur Brand stated publicly he suspects the jewels could be "long gone", having been broken up into many fragments.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels will be sold for a small part of their true price and taken out of French territory, other experts indicated.

Potential Suspects Behind the Heist

The group are experienced criminals, according to the expert, as demonstrated by the fact they were inside and outside of the museum so quickly.

"Realistically speaking, for an average individual, one doesn't just get up overnight planning, I will become a burglar, and begin with the Louvre," he noted.

"This isn't their first heist," he said. "They've carried out things before. They're self-assured and they calculated, it might work out with this, and went for it."

Additionally demonstrating the skill of the gang is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "strong track record in solving significant crimes" has been assigned with tracking them down.

Law enforcement have said they think the heist is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Organised crime groups of this type generally have two main goals, legal official the prosecutor stated. "Either to act on behalf of a sponsor, or to secure expensive jewelry to perform illegal financial activities."

Mr Brand thinks it would be extremely difficult to sell the items intact, and he explained commissioned theft for an individual buyer represents a situation that mainly exists in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to touch a piece so identifiable," he elaborated. "You can't display it to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to your children, there's no market for it."

Potential £10m Value

The expert thinks the objects will be dismantled and disassembled, including the gold and silver components melted and the gems re-cut into smaller components that would be virtually impossible to track back to the museum theft.

Jewellery historian an authority in the field, host of the podcast about historical jewelry and previously served as Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for 20 years, told the BBC the robbers had "specifically chosen" the most important treasures from the museum's holdings.

The "beautiful large perfect gems" are expected to be dug out from their settings and disposed of, she said, with the exception of the tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie which has smaller stones mounted in it and was considered "too hot to possess," she added.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned as they got away, together with another piece, and recovered by police.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, contains extremely rare authentic pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

Even though the pieces have been described as having immeasurable worth, Ms Woolton anticipates they could be marketed for a minimal part of their true price.

"They will go to buyers who is willing to acquire such items," she stated. "Many people will seek for these items – they will take whatever price is offered."

The precise value might they bring in money upon being marketed? Regarding the potential value of the haul, Mr Brand said the cut-up parts may amount to "several million."

The jewels and taken gold may bring approximately £10 million (millions in euros; $13.4m), stated by an industry expert, chief executive of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.

He stated the perpetrators would need an experienced professional to separate the jewels, and a skilled stone worker to change the larger recognisable stones.

Minor components that couldn't be easily recognized might be marketed quickly and while it was hard to determine the precise value of each piece stolen, the more significant gems might value approximately half a million pounds per stone, he said.

"Reports indicate no fewer than four comparable in size, so adding all of those along with the gold components, you are probably approaching the estimated figure," he stated.

"The jewelry and gemstone market is active and numerous purchasers exist in less regulated areas that won't inquire about origins."

Hope persists that the stolen goods might resurface undamaged one day – but those hopes are narrowing as the days pass.

Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the cultural institution displays a piece of jewelry stolen in 1948 that later resurfaced in an auction much later.

What is certain is many in France are extremely upset about the museum robbery, demonstrating a cultural bond to the jewels.

"We don't necessarily appreciate jewelry because it's a question of privilege, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation within French culture," Alexandre Leger, curatorial leader at French jeweller the prestigious firm, said