Is France Able to Retrieve Its Invaluable Crown Jewels – Or Has It Become Too Late?
Law enforcement in France are desperate to retrieve extremely valuable jewels robbed from the Paris museum in a brazen daytime heist, although specialists have warned it might be too late to get them back.
Within the French capital on Sunday, robbers entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, stealing eight precious artifacts before escaping on scooters in a audacious theft that took about eight minutes.
International art investigator a renowned specialist told the BBC he suspects the stolen items are likely "dispersed", after being taken apart into many fragments.
There is a strong chance the artifacts may be disposed of for a fraction of their worth and taken out of French territory, other experts indicated.
Who May Be Behind the Theft
The perpetrators acted professionally, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the speed with which they got through the museum of the building in record time.
"Realistically speaking, for an average individual, you don't wake up in the morning believing, I should become a burglar, and begin with the world-famous museum," he explained.
"This isn't their initial robbery," he added. "They've committed things before. They are confident and they believed, we might get away with this attempt, and proceeded."
Additionally demonstrating the expertise of the gang is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in cracking high-profile robberies" has been tasked with finding them.
Law enforcement have said they believe the heist relates to an organised crime network.
Sophisticated gangs such as these typically have two objectives, French prosecutor Laure Beccuau explained. "Either to act on behalf of a financier, or to secure precious stones to perform money laundering operations."
The expert believes it would be impossible to market the jewels intact, and he explained commissioned theft for a private collector is something that only happens in movies.
"Nobody wants to acquire an artifact so identifiable," he elaborated. "You can't display it to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to family, it cannot be sold."
Potential £10m Worth
The expert thinks the stolen items are likely broken down and broken up, including the gold and silver melted down and the gems cut up into smaller components that could be nearly impossible to trace back to the Louvre robbery.
Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, creator of the podcast about historical jewelry and previously served as the famous fashion magazine's gemstone expert for two decades, stated the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most important gemstones from the Louvre's collection.
The "magnificent exquisite jewels" would likely be removed of their mountings and disposed of, she explained, excluding the crown from the French empress which contains smaller gems mounted in it and was considered "too hot to possess," she explained.
This might account for why they left it behind while fleeing, along with another piece, and located by officials.
The royal crown which was stolen, contains extremely rare organic pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.
Although the artifacts are considered being beyond valuation, the historian anticipates they could be marketed for a fraction of their worth.
"They're destined to buyers who are able to acquire such items," she said. "Authorities worldwide will search for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept any amount available."
How much exactly might they bring as payment when disposed of? Regarding the potential value of the haul, the detective said the cut-up parts may amount to "multiple millions."
The jewels and gold stolen may bring up to ten million pounds (millions in euros; millions in US currency), stated by a jewelry specialist, managing director of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.
He told the BBC the perpetrators would need a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to alter the more noticeable pieces.
Less noticeable gems that were harder to trace would be disposed of right away and although difficult to determine the exact price of each piece stolen, the more significant gems might value around half a million pounds per stone, he explained.
"Reports indicate no fewer than four that large, therefore combining each of them up plus the gold components, it's likely coming close to the estimated figure," he concluded.
"The jewelry and luxury goods trade has buyers and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that won't inquire about origins."
Some optimism remains that the artifacts could reappear undamaged in the future – but those hopes are fading with each passing day.
Historical examples exist – a historical showcase at the London museum displays an artifact stolen in 1948 which eventually returned in an auction several decades later.
Definitely are numerous French citizens are extremely upset about the museum robbery, expressing a personal connection to the jewels.
"French people don't always value gems because it's an issue of power, and that doesn't necessarily carry positive associations in France," a jewelry authority, director of historical collections at established French company the historical business, said
