Can France Recover Its Priceless Historic Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?
Police in France are desperate to retrieve priceless gemstones taken from the Paris museum in a daring broad daylight theft, although specialists have warned it might be impossible to get them back.
Within the French capital over the weekend, robbers entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, making off with eight precious artifacts then fleeing using scooters in a audacious theft that lasted approximately just minutes.
Dutch art detective an expert in the field told the BBC he believes the artifacts could be "dispersed", having been broken up into hundreds of parts.
It is highly likely the pieces will be sold for a fraction of their worth and smuggled out of France, other experts indicated.
Possible Culprits Behind the Theft
The thieves were professionals, Mr Brand believes, as demonstrated by the way they managed in and out of the museum so quickly.
"As you might expect, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide one day thinking, I'm going to become a criminal, let's start with the Louvre Museum," he explained.
"This likely isn't their initial robbery," he continued. "They've carried out previous crimes. They're self-assured and they believed, we might get away with this plan, and took the chance."
In another sign the expertise of the gang is being taken seriously, a specialist police unit with a "strong track record in resolving high-profile robberies" has been assigned with tracking them down.
Police officials have indicated they think the robbery is linked to an organised crime network.
Organised crime groups of this type usually pursue two objectives, legal official a senior official explained. "Either to act working for a sponsor, or to acquire valuable gems to conduct financial crimes."
Mr Brand thinks it would be impossible to sell the items as complete pieces, and he explained commissioned theft for a specific client is a scenario that typically occurs in movies.
"Nobody wants to acquire a piece so hot," he elaborated. "You can't display it publicly, you cannot leave it to your children, you cannot sell it."
Potential £10m Value
Mr Brand believes the stolen items will be taken apart and disassembled, with the gold and silver components melted and the jewels divided into less recognizable pieces that would be nearly impossible to connect to the Louvre robbery.
Gemstone expert a renowned expert, who presents the digital series about historical jewelry and previously served as Vogue magazine's jewelry specialist for two decades, stated the perpetrators had "carefully selected" the most significant jewels from the institution's artifacts.
The "impressively sized perfect gems" are expected to be removed from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she said, except for the headpiece of the historical figure which contains smaller gems mounted in it and was "too dangerous to handle," she continued.
This might account for the reason it was abandoned during the escape, in addition to a second artifact, and recovered by police.
Empress Eugenie's tiara that was taken, contains extremely rare natural pearls which command enormous prices, authorities indicate.
Even though the pieces are considered being priceless, the historian anticipates they could be marketed for a fraction of their worth.
"They'll likely end up to buyers who is willing to handle these," she said. "Authorities worldwide will search for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept any amount available."
How much exactly would they generate as payment when disposed of? When asked about the potential value of the loot, the expert said the cut-up parts could be worth "many millions."
The gems and gold stolen could fetch approximately ten million pounds (€11.52m; $13.4m), says Tobias Kormind, chief executive of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.
He told the BBC the thieves will require a skilled expert to remove the gems, and a professional diamond cutter to alter the more noticeable pieces.
Less noticeable gems that couldn't be easily recognized might be marketed quickly and despite challenges to determine the exact price of every gem stolen, the more significant gems might value about half a million pounds per stone, he noted.
"We know there are no fewer than four comparable in size, therefore combining all of those along with the gold components, it's likely coming close to £10m," he said.
"The jewelry and gemstone market is liquid and numerous purchasers exist in less regulated areas that don't ask about origins."
Hope persists that the stolen goods might resurface undamaged eventually – but those hopes are fading over time.
Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the London museum features an item of jewellery previously stolen that later resurfaced in a sale several decades later.
Definitely is many in France are extremely upset regarding the theft, demonstrating an emotional attachment to the jewels.
"French people don't always appreciate jewelry since it represents a question of privilege, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation within French culture," a jewelry authority, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house the historical business, said