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Law enforcement in France are desperate to locate irreplaceable jewels stolen from the Paris museum in a daring daylight robbery, but experts have warned it could be impossible to get them back.

At the heart of Paris over the weekend, robbers gained access to the most popular museum globally, stealing eight cherished pieces and getting away using scooters in a daring heist that took about eight minutes.

International art investigator Arthur Brand stated publicly he feared the jewels could be "long gone", having been broken up into hundreds of parts.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels will be sold for a fraction of their worth and taken out of the country, other experts have said.

Potential Suspects Behind the Theft

The group acted professionally, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the way they managed inside and outside of the Louvre so quickly.

"Realistically speaking, for an average individual, one doesn't just get up in the morning planning, I'm going to become a burglar, let's start with the world-famous museum," he explained.

"This isn't their initial robbery," he said. "They've committed other burglaries. They are confident and they thought, it might work out with this attempt, and took the chance."

As further evidence the expertise of the thieves is considered significant, a specialist police unit with a "high success rate in cracking major theft cases" has been tasked with locating the perpetrators.

Police officials have said they suspect the robbery relates to a criminal organization.

Criminal organizations of this type generally have two objectives, French prosecutor a senior official stated. "Either they operate on behalf of a sponsor, or to secure precious stones to perform illegal financial activities."

Mr Brand thinks it is highly unlikely to sell the items as complete pieces, and he noted targeted robbery for a private collector is a scenario that typically occurs in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to handle a piece so hot," he stated. "It cannot be shown publicly, you can't bequeath it to heirs, it cannot be sold."

Estimated £10m Worth

The detective suggests the artifacts will be dismantled and broken up, with the gold and silver melted down and the precious stones re-cut into smaller stones that would be virtually impossible to trace back to the Paris heist.

Gemstone expert Carol Woolton, who presents the audio program focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as the prestigious publication's jewellery editor for many years, explained the perpetrators had "specifically chosen" the most significant gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large exquisite jewels" will probably be extracted of their mountings and marketed, she explained, excluding the headpiece of the historical figure which features less valuable pieces set in it and proved to be "too dangerous to keep," she continued.

This could explain why they left it behind during the escape, in addition to one other item, and located by officials.

The imperial headpiece that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon authentic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.

While the items are regarded as being beyond valuation, the expert anticipates they will be disposed of for a small percentage of their value.

"They're destined to someone who are prepared to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept whatever price is offered."

What specific amount could they fetch as payment if sold on? Regarding the potential value of the stolen goods, the expert indicated the dismantled components could be worth "several million."

The precious stones and gold stolen might achieve approximately ten million pounds (€11.52m; $13.4m), according to Tobias Kormind, senior official of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer.

The expert explained the perpetrators must have an experienced professional to remove the gems, and an expert gem cutter to alter the bigger identifiable gems.

Less noticeable gems that were harder to trace could be sold right away and while it was hard to estimate the precise value of every gem taken, the bigger stones may amount to approximately half a million pounds for individual pieces, he said.

"There are no fewer than four comparable in size, so adding all those pieces together with the gold, it's likely reaching £10m," he said.

"The jewelry and gemstone market is active and plenty of customers operate in less regulated areas that avoid questioning about origins."

Hope persists that the artifacts could reappear undamaged eventually – but those hopes are narrowing over time.

Similar cases have occurred – a jewelry display at the V&A Museum features an item of jewellery stolen in 1948 which eventually returned in an auction much later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens feel profoundly disturbed by the Louvre heist, having felt a personal connection to the jewels.

"We don't necessarily appreciate jewelry since it represents a question of privilege, and which doesn't always carry positive associations among French people," Alexandre Leger, head of heritage at French jeweller the prestigious firm, said