Will France Recover Its Invaluable Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?
Police in France are urgently trying to recover priceless treasures stolen from the Paris museum in a daring daytime heist, but experts are concerned it could be past the point of recovery to get them back.
At the heart of Paris over the weekend, robbers gained access to the world's most-visited museum, making off with eight precious artifacts and getting away using scooters in a audacious theft that lasted approximately under ten minutes.
Expert art detective Arthur Brand expressed his view he feared the jewels may already be "dispersed", having been broken up into many fragments.
Experts suggest the artifacts may be disposed of for a mere percentage of their value and taken out of French territory, other experts noted.
Who May Be Behind the Heist
The thieves were professionals, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the speed with which they got inside and outside of the Louvre with such efficiency.
"As you might expect, for an average individual, one doesn't just get up in the morning planning, I will become a thief, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he explained.
"This isn't their first heist," he said. "They've committed things before. They're self-assured and they believed, we could succeed with this plan, and took the chance."
In another sign the skill of the thieves is treated as important, an elite police team with a "proven effectiveness in cracking high-profile robberies" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.
Police officials have stated they believe the theft is connected to an organised crime network.
Organised crime groups like these typically have two objectives, Paris prosecutor the prosecutor explained. "Either to act on behalf of a sponsor, or to secure expensive jewelry to perform illegal financial activities."
The expert believes it is impossible to dispose of the artifacts in their original form, and he explained targeted robbery for a specific client is a scenario that only happens in fictional stories.
"Nobody wants to touch an item this recognizable," he explained. "It cannot be shown publicly, you can't bequeath it to your children, you cannot sell it."
Potential £10m Worth
Mr Brand believes the stolen items are likely broken down and broken up, with the gold and silver melted down and the precious stones divided into less recognizable pieces that will be virtually impossible to track back to the museum theft.
Gemstone expert Carol Woolton, creator of the digital series focusing on gemstones and previously served as the prestigious publication's gemstone expert for 20 years, stated the perpetrators had "cherry-picked" the most important treasures from the Louvre's collection.
The "magnificent exquisite jewels" are expected to be extracted from their settings and disposed of, she noted, excluding the tiara belonging to the French empress which has smaller stones mounted in it and was considered "too dangerous to handle," she added.
This potentially clarifies the reason it was abandoned during the escape, along with another piece, and located by officials.
The imperial headpiece which was stolen, features exceptionally uncommon organic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.
Although the artifacts are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the historian expects them could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.
"They'll likely end up to individuals who is willing to handle these," she explained. "Authorities worldwide will search for these items – they will take whatever price is offered."
How much exactly could they fetch financially upon being marketed? When asked about the estimated price of the stolen goods, the expert said the separated elements might value "many millions."
The jewels and taken gold may bring up to £10 million (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says an industry expert, chief executive of an established company, an online jeweller.
The expert explained the gang will require a trained specialist to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to alter the larger recognisable stones.
Smaller stones that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold right away and while it was hard to tell the exact price of all the stones taken, the larger ones could be worth about £500,000 for individual pieces, he noted.
"We know there are no fewer than four that large, thus totaling each of them together with the precious metal, one could estimate reaching ten million," he said.
"The gemstone and gemstone market has buyers and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that don't ask about origins."
Hope persists that the stolen goods could reappear in original condition one day – although such expectations are narrowing over time.
There is a precedent – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum features an artifact taken decades ago which eventually returned in a public event several decades later.
Definitely includes the French public feel profoundly disturbed regarding the theft, expressing an emotional attachment to the jewels.
"French people don't always appreciate jewelry since it represents a matter concerning privilege, and that doesn't necessarily carry positive associations among French people," a heritage expert, curatorial leader at established French company the historical business, stated