Can France Get Back Its Precious Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?
Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to locate extremely valuable jewels taken from the Louvre in a daring broad daylight theft, yet authorities caution it could be too late to recover them.
At the heart of Paris over the weekend, burglars broke into the most popular museum globally, making off with eight valued items and getting away on scooters in a daring heist that was completed in eight minutes.
International art investigator an expert in the field stated publicly he feared the jewels could be "dispersed", having been broken up into numerous components.
There is a strong chance the artifacts could be sold off for a small part of their true price and taken out of France, several authorities have said.
Potential Suspects Behind the Theft
The perpetrators acted professionally, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the fact they were inside and outside of the museum in record time.
"Realistically speaking, as a normal person, you don't wake up overnight thinking, I'm going to become a criminal, choosing as first target the world-famous museum," he said.
"This isn't their first heist," he continued. "They've committed other burglaries. They are confident and they calculated, we might get away with this plan, and proceeded."
Additionally demonstrating the professionalism of the thieves is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "proven effectiveness in solving significant crimes" has been tasked with finding them.
Authorities have said they suspect the heist relates to a sophisticated gang.
Sophisticated gangs of this type typically have two objectives, legal official the prosecutor stated. "Either they operate on behalf of a client, or to obtain expensive jewelry to conduct financial crimes."
The expert believes it seems highly unlikely to sell the items intact, and he noted targeted robbery for an individual buyer is a scenario that typically occurs in fictional stories.
"No one desires to handle an artifact so hot," he explained. "It cannot be shown to acquaintances, you can't bequeath it to heirs, you cannot sell it."
Estimated £10m Value
The expert thinks the objects will be taken apart and broken up, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the jewels divided into smaller stones that would be nearly impossible to track back to the museum theft.
Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, host of the digital series about historical jewelry and was Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for two decades, told the BBC the robbers had "specifically chosen" the most significant jewels from the institution's artifacts.
The "impressively sized perfect gems" would likely be dug out of their mountings and sold, she noted, excluding the headpiece of the historical figure which contains smaller gems mounted in it and proved to be "too hot to handle," she added.
This might account for the reason it was abandoned as they got away, in addition to a second artifact, and found by authorities.
The royal crown that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon natural pearls which are incredibly valuable, experts say.
Even though the pieces have been described as having immeasurable worth, the historian expects them to be sold for a fraction of their worth.
"They will go to individuals who is willing to handle these," she stated. "Everyone will be looking for these items – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."
How much exactly could they fetch as payment upon being marketed? When asked about the possible worth of the stolen goods, Mr Brand indicated the cut-up parts could be worth "several million."
The jewels and removed precious metal might achieve up to a significant sum (€11.52m; millions in US currency), stated by an industry expert, chief executive of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer.
The expert explained the thieves will require an experienced professional to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to modify the larger recognisable stones.
Minor components that couldn't be easily recognized might be marketed immediately and while it was hard to determine the specific worth of all the stones taken, the bigger stones might value around £500,000 per stone, he said.
"We know there are at least four comparable in size, thus totaling all of those together with the gold components, it's likely reaching £10m," he concluded.
"The gemstone and precious stone industry has buyers and plenty of customers operate on the fringes that avoid questioning about origins."
Hope persists that the stolen goods could reappear intact one day – yet this possibility are diminishing as the days pass.
There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the cultural institution features an item of jewellery taken decades ago that later resurfaced in a public event many years after.
Without doubt includes the French public are deeply shocked about the museum robbery, expressing an emotional attachment with the artifacts.
"There isn't always appreciate jewelry since it represents a matter concerning privilege, and this isn't typically carry positive associations within French culture," a heritage expert, director of historical collections at French jeweller the prestigious firm, explained