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Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to retrieve priceless treasures stolen from the Louvre Museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, but experts are concerned it could be too late to save them.

In Paris over the weekend, thieves broke into the most popular museum globally, stealing eight precious artifacts and getting away on scooters in a daring heist that was completed in eight minutes.

International art investigator Arthur Brand expressed his view he suspects the stolen items could be "dispersed", after being taken apart into many fragments.

It is highly likely the artifacts could be sold off for a small part of their true price and taken out of France, additional specialists have said.

Potential Suspects Behind the Theft

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

"Realistically speaking, as a normal person, one doesn't just get up in the morning thinking, I will become a thief, choosing as first target the world-famous museum," he noted.

"This likely isn't the first time they've done this," he continued. "They've committed other burglaries. They feel certain and they believed, it might work out with this, and proceeded."

As further evidence the professionalism of the group is being taken seriously, an elite police team with a "high success rate in solving major theft cases" has been given responsibility with tracking them down.

Police officials have stated they suspect the theft is linked to an organised crime network.

Organised crime groups like these generally have two main goals, Paris prosecutor the prosecutor stated. "Either they operate for the benefit of a sponsor, or to secure valuable gems to carry out illegal financial activities."

Mr Brand thinks it seems impossible to sell the items in their original form, and he explained stealing-to-order for a private collector represents a situation that mainly exists in fictional stories.

"No one desires to acquire a piece this recognizable," he stated. "You can't display it to acquaintances, you cannot leave it to heirs, there's no market for it."

Potential £10m Price Tag

The detective suggests the stolen items are likely broken down and broken up, with the gold and silver components melted and the jewels divided into less recognizable pieces that could be virtually impossible to connect to the Paris heist.

Jewellery historian an authority in the field, host of the podcast about historical jewelry and previously served as the prestigious publication's jewellery editor for 20 years, stated the thieves had "cherry-picked" the most valuable treasures from the Louvre's collection.

The "impressively sized flawless stones" are expected to be removed from their settings and marketed, she said, excluding the tiara belonging to the French empress which has smaller stones incorporated within it and proved to be "too dangerous to handle," she continued.

This potentially clarifies the reason it was abandoned while fleeing, along with a second artifact, and located by officials.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, has rare natural pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

Although the artifacts have been described as being beyond valuation, Ms Woolton anticipates they could be marketed for a minimal part of their true price.

"They're destined to individuals who are prepared to take possession," she stated. "Authorities worldwide will search for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept any amount available."

The precise value could they fetch as payment when disposed of? When asked about the estimated price of the haul, the expert stated the separated elements could be worth "many millions."

The gems and taken gold might achieve approximately a significant sum (€11.52m; $13.4m), according to a jewelry specialist, managing director of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.

He stated the gang will require an experienced professional to remove the gems, and a professional diamond cutter to change the larger recognisable stones.

Smaller stones that were not easily identifiable would be disposed of immediately and despite challenges to determine the precise value of each piece removed, the more significant gems may amount to approximately half a million pounds for individual pieces, he explained.

"Reports indicate no fewer than four comparable in size, thus totaling all those pieces together with the gold, it's likely approaching ten million," he concluded.

"The diamond and precious stone industry is liquid and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that won't inquire regarding sources."

There are hopes that the stolen goods could reappear intact one day – yet this possibility are diminishing as the days pass.

Similar cases have occurred – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum displays a piece of jewelry previously stolen before reappearing in an auction several decades later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens feel profoundly disturbed by the Louvre heist, expressing a personal connection toward the treasures.

"There isn't always value gems since it represents a question of authority, and this isn't typically receive favorable interpretation among French people," a heritage expert, director of historical collections at Parisian jewelry house the historical business, stated