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Police in France are urgently trying to locate extremely valuable gemstones taken from the Louvre Museum in a daring broad daylight theft, yet authorities are concerned it could be impossible to recover them.

Within the French capital over the weekend, thieves entered by force the most popular museum globally, taking eight cherished pieces then fleeing via motor scooters in a daring heist that lasted approximately under ten minutes.

International art investigator Arthur Brand expressed his view he suspects the stolen items are likely "dispersed", once separated into numerous components.

Experts suggest the pieces could be sold off for a mere percentage of their value and taken out of French territory, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Heist

The perpetrators acted professionally, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the way they managed in and out of the Louvre in record time.

"As you might expect, for regular people, you don't wake up in the morning thinking, I will become a criminal, let's start with the Louvre," he noted.

"This won't be their first heist," he said. "They've committed other burglaries. They are confident and they believed, we might get away with this plan, and took the chance."

In another sign the skill of the gang is treated as important, an elite police team with a "high success rate in cracking significant crimes" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.

Authorities have stated they think the heist is connected to a criminal organization.

Criminal organizations of this type usually pursue two objectives, legal official the prosecutor explained. "Either to act for the benefit of a sponsor, or to obtain valuable gems to carry out illegal financial activities."

The detective suggests it is impossible to dispose of the artifacts in their original form, and he explained stealing-to-order for a specific client represents a situation that only happens in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to acquire an item this recognizable," he explained. "It cannot be shown to acquaintances, you can't bequeath it to heirs, there's no market for it."

Potential £10m Price Tag

The expert thinks the stolen items will be taken apart and broken up, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the jewels divided into smaller stones that would be virtually impossible to trace back to the Louvre robbery.

Gemstone expert a renowned expert, host of the audio program focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as the prestigious publication's gemstone expert for two decades, explained the perpetrators had "carefully selected" the most valuable gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "magnificent flawless stones" would likely be extracted of their mountings and sold, she said, except for the headpiece of the French empress which contains smaller gems set in it and was "too hot to handle," she continued.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned as they got away, together with one other item, and located by officials.

The imperial headpiece that was taken, has rare authentic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.

While the items are considered being priceless, Ms Woolton anticipates they will be disposed of for a small percentage of their value.

"They'll likely end up to buyers who are prepared to handle these," she explained. "Authorities worldwide will search for the stolen goods – they will take what they can get."

How much exactly could they fetch financially if sold on? When asked about the potential value of the haul, the detective stated the cut-up parts could be worth "several million."

The precious stones and removed precious metal may bring up to a significant sum (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says an industry expert, senior official of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.

He told the BBC the gang will require an experienced professional to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to change the larger recognisable stones.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable might be marketed immediately and while it was hard to determine the specific worth of all the stones stolen, the more significant gems might value around £500,000 per stone, he noted.

"We know there are a minimum of four comparable in size, therefore combining all of those up plus the precious metal, one could estimate coming close to the estimated figure," he stated.

"The gemstone and gemstone market has buyers and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that avoid questioning about origins."

Hope persists that the stolen goods could reappear intact one day – but those hopes are narrowing over time.

Similar cases have occurred – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum displays an item of jewellery taken decades ago that later resurfaced in a sale many years after.

Without doubt is many in France are deeply shocked by the Louvre heist, having felt a personal connection toward the treasures.

"French people don't always value gems since it represents an issue of privilege, and this isn't typically carry positive associations in France," Alexandre Leger, head of heritage at French jeweller the prestigious firm, said