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French authorities are desperate to locate irreplaceable gemstones robbed from the Paris museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, but experts have warned it might be too late to save them.

At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers entered by force the world's most-visited museum, taking eight precious artifacts and getting away via motor scooters in a daring heist that was completed in under ten minutes.

Dutch art detective a renowned specialist told the BBC he feared the jewels are likely "already dismantled", once separated into numerous components.

It is highly likely the pieces could be sold off for a mere percentage of their value and illegally transported from the country, other experts noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Theft

The perpetrators were professionals, Mr Brand believes, shown by the fact they were through the museum of the Louvre in record time.

"As you might expect, as a normal person, you don't wake up one day believing, I will become a thief, and begin with the Louvre Museum," he noted.

"This isn't their initial robbery," he continued. "They've carried out previous crimes. They're self-assured and they thought, we could succeed with this plan, and went for it."

Additionally demonstrating the expertise of the gang is being taken seriously, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in resolving major theft cases" has been tasked with finding them.

Police officials have said they think the theft is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Organised crime groups like these typically have two main goals, legal official the prosecutor explained. "Either to act working for a sponsor, or to obtain expensive jewelry to perform money laundering operations."

The detective suggests it is highly unlikely to dispose of the artifacts as complete pieces, and he said stealing-to-order for an individual buyer represents a situation that mainly exists in movies.

"Few people wish to touch an item this recognizable," he stated. "You cannot show it to your friends, it cannot be passed to family, it cannot be sold."

Estimated £10m Price Tag

The expert thinks the artifacts will be dismantled and broken up, with the gold and silver melted down and the precious stones re-cut into smaller components that will be extremely difficult to trace back to the museum theft.

Gemstone expert an authority in the field, who presents the digital series focusing on gemstones and previously served as the famous fashion magazine's jewellery editor for many years, stated the perpetrators had "specifically chosen" the most significant jewels from the Louvre's collection.

The "beautiful large flawless stones" would likely be extracted from the jewelry pieces and sold, she said, with the exception of the headpiece of the historical figure which has smaller stones incorporated within it and proved to be "too recognizable to handle," she added.

This might account for why it was dropped as they got away, together with another piece, and located by officials.

The imperial headpiece that was taken, contains extremely rare authentic pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

While the items have been described as being beyond valuation, the historian believes they to be sold for a small percentage of their value.

"They will go to someone who are prepared to acquire such items," she said. "Authorities worldwide will search for these – the thieves will accept what they can get."

How much exactly might they bring in money if sold on? When asked about the possible worth of the haul, the detective stated the dismantled components could be worth "multiple millions."

The precious stones and removed precious metal might achieve approximately £10 million (€11.52m; $13.4m), stated by Tobias Kormind, senior official of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.

He told the BBC the perpetrators must have a skilled expert to remove the gems, and a professional diamond cutter to alter the bigger identifiable gems.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable could be sold quickly and despite challenges to estimate the specific worth of all the stones removed, the more significant gems might value approximately half a million pounds for individual pieces, he explained.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four comparable in size, therefore combining all those pieces together with the gold components, one could estimate approaching £10m," he concluded.

"The gemstone and luxury goods trade has buyers and numerous purchasers exist within gray markets that avoid questioning too many questions."

Some optimism remains that the items could reappear undamaged one day – although such expectations are fading with each passing day.

There is a precedent – the Cartier exhibition at the cultural institution displays an artifact stolen in 1948 that later resurfaced in a sale many years after.

Definitely is many in France are deeply shocked about the museum robbery, expressing an emotional attachment toward the treasures.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry as it symbolizes a matter concerning power, and which doesn't always have a good connotation in France," a jewelry authority, director of historical collections at Parisian jewelry house the historical business, said