Is France Able to Retrieve Its Invaluable Royal Gems – Or Is It Too Late?
Police in France are urgently trying to recover irreplaceable treasures taken from the Paris museum in a brazen daylight robbery, although specialists are concerned it could be too late to recover them.
At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers gained access to the top tourist attraction worldwide, taking eight valued items and getting away using scooters in a audacious theft that lasted approximately just minutes.
Dutch art detective a renowned specialist stated publicly he suspects the jewels could be "long gone", having been broken up into many fragments.
It is highly likely the stolen jewels may be disposed of for a fraction of their worth and smuggled out of French territory, additional specialists noted.
Who May Be Behind the Robbery
The thieves were professionals, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the fact they were in and out of the Louvre with such efficiency.
"You know, for regular people, people don't suddenly decide in the morning thinking, I should become a burglar, let's start with the Louvre," he said.
"This likely isn't their initial robbery," he added. "They've carried out other burglaries. They are confident and they thought, we could succeed with this plan, and proceeded."
Additionally demonstrating the skill of the thieves is considered significant, an elite police team with a "strong track record in resolving major theft cases" has been tasked with tracking them down.
Law enforcement have stated they believe the theft is linked to an organised crime network.
Criminal organizations like these generally have two objectives, Paris prosecutor a senior official explained. "Either they operate on behalf of a financier, or to secure valuable gems to conduct financial crimes."
The detective suggests it seems extremely difficult to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he explained targeted robbery for an individual buyer is a scenario that only happens in Hollywood films.
"Few people wish to touch an item so hot," he stated. "You cannot show it to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to your children, you cannot sell it."
Possible £10m Value
The detective suggests the stolen items will be taken apart and broken up, with the gold and silver melted down and the jewels divided into smaller components that could be extremely difficult to connect to the museum theft.
Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, host of the podcast about historical jewelry and was Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for two decades, stated the perpetrators had "cherry-picked" the most significant jewels from the institution's artifacts.
The "beautiful large exquisite jewels" will probably be extracted from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she said, except for the headpiece of the historical figure which contains smaller gems set in it and was "too recognizable to handle," she continued.
This potentially clarifies why it was dropped during the escape, together with a second artifact, and found by authorities.
Empress Eugenie's tiara that was taken, contains extremely rare organic pearls which command enormous prices, experts say.
Although the artifacts have been described as having immeasurable worth, the expert believes they could be marketed for a fraction of their worth.
"They will go to someone who is willing to acquire such items," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these – the thieves will accept what they can get."
The precise value could they fetch in money when disposed of? When asked about the potential value of the loot, Mr Brand said the cut-up parts may amount to "several million."
The gems and removed precious metal may bring approximately a significant sum (€11.52m; $13.4m), stated by Tobias Kormind, chief executive of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.
He told the BBC the thieves would need a skilled expert to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to alter the more noticeable pieces.
Smaller stones that were not easily identifiable could be sold quickly and while it was hard to estimate the precise value of each piece removed, the bigger stones may amount to about £500,000 per stone, he explained.
"We know there are a minimum of four comparable in size, therefore combining all of those up plus the gold components, one could estimate reaching £10m," he concluded.
"The diamond and gemstone market is liquid and plenty of customers operate on the fringes that won't inquire too many questions."
Hope persists that the artifacts might resurface in original condition one day – although such expectations are fading over time.
There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the V&A Museum features an artifact stolen in 1948 which eventually returned in a sale many years after.
What is certain includes the French public feel profoundly disturbed about the museum robbery, having felt an emotional attachment to the jewels.
"We don't necessarily like jewellery as it symbolizes a question of power, and this isn't typically have a good connotation among French people," Alexandre Leger, head of heritage at French jeweller the historical business, said