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Police in France are making every effort to recover extremely valuable gemstones taken from the Louvre Museum in a brazen broad daylight theft, but experts are concerned it may already be too late to save them.

At the heart of Paris over the weekend, burglars entered by force the world's most-visited museum, stealing eight precious artifacts before escaping via motor scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in under ten minutes.

Expert art detective a renowned specialist stated publicly he suspects the stolen items may already be "long gone", having been broken up into numerous components.

It is highly likely the artifacts could be sold off for a small part of their true price and taken out of French territory, other experts noted.

Who May Be Behind the Theft

The group are experienced criminals, according to the expert, shown by the speed with which they got inside and outside of the museum so quickly.

"You know, for an average individual, you don't wake up one day believing, I should become a criminal, let's start with the world-famous museum," he noted.

"This likely isn't their initial robbery," he added. "They've committed other burglaries. They're self-assured and they believed, it might work out with this, and proceeded."

As further evidence the expertise of the thieves is being taken seriously, an elite police team with a "high success rate in resolving major theft cases" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.

Law enforcement have said they suspect the theft relates to a sophisticated gang.

Sophisticated gangs of this type usually pursue two objectives, French prosecutor a senior official said. "Either to act working for a client, or to acquire expensive jewelry to conduct financial crimes."

The detective suggests it is extremely difficult to sell the items in their original form, and he said targeted robbery for a specific client is a scenario that typically occurs in Hollywood films.

"Nobody wants to acquire an artifact so identifiable," he explained. "It cannot be shown publicly, it cannot be passed to family, there's no market for it."

Estimated £10m Worth

The expert thinks the artifacts will be taken apart and broken up, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the precious stones divided into smaller components that would be extremely difficult to connect to the Paris heist.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, creator of the podcast focusing on gemstones and previously served as Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for two decades, told the BBC the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most significant gemstones from the museum's holdings.

The "magnificent flawless stones" will probably be dug out from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she said, except for the tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie which features less valuable pieces mounted in it and proved to be "too hot to possess," she added.

This could explain why they left it behind while fleeing, in addition to another piece, and recovered by police.

The royal crown that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon natural pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

Although the artifacts are considered being beyond valuation, Ms Woolton believes they will be disposed of for a small percentage of their value.

"They will go to someone who is willing to take possession," she stated. "Many people will seek for these – the thieves will accept what they can get."

What specific amount might they bring in money upon being marketed? When asked about the estimated price of the haul, Mr Brand said the dismantled components could be worth "multiple millions."

The jewels and removed precious metal may bring up to a significant sum (€11.52m; $13.4m), according to Tobias Kormind, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, an internet-based gem dealer.

He told the BBC the thieves must have a skilled expert to separate the jewels, and a professional diamond cutter to change the larger recognisable stones.

Smaller stones that were not easily identifiable might be marketed quickly and while it was hard to estimate the specific worth of every gem removed, the bigger stones might value around a significant amount each, he noted.

"Reports indicate no fewer than four comparable in size, so adding all of those up plus the precious metal, it's likely coming close to £10m," he stated.

"The gemstone and precious stone industry is active and numerous purchasers exist on the fringes that avoid questioning too many questions."

There are hopes that the items might resurface intact one day – but those hopes are fading as the days pass.

There is a precedent – a jewelry display at the London museum features a piece of jewelry taken decades ago that later resurfaced in a public event several decades later.

What is certain are numerous French citizens feel profoundly disturbed by the Louvre heist, expressing an emotional attachment with the artifacts.

"There isn't always appreciate jewelry because it's an issue of power, and which doesn't always receive favorable interpretation within French culture," a jewelry authority, head of heritage at Parisian jewelry house the prestigious firm, said