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French authorities are desperate to locate extremely valuable gemstones stolen from the Louvre Museum in a daring daylight robbery, yet authorities caution it might be past the point of recovery to save them.

Within the French capital this past Sunday, thieves entered by force the world's most-visited museum, taking eight precious artifacts and getting away using scooters in a daring heist that took about just minutes.

International art investigator a renowned specialist told the BBC he suspects the artifacts may already be "dispersed", having been broken up into numerous components.

It is highly likely the artifacts may be disposed of for a small part of their true price and taken out of the country, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery

The group were professionals, according to the expert, as demonstrated by the fact they were inside and outside of the building in record time.

"As you might expect, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide overnight thinking, I should become a criminal, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he explained.

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

In another sign the skill of the thieves is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "strong track record in resolving significant crimes" has been assigned with tracking them down.

Law enforcement have said they think the robbery is linked to an organised crime network.

Criminal organizations like these usually pursue two primary purposes, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. "Either they operate for the benefit of a sponsor, or to obtain expensive jewelry to conduct illegal financial activities."

The detective suggests it seems highly unlikely to dispose of the artifacts in their original form, and he noted stealing-to-order for a specific client is something that typically occurs in fictional stories.

"No one desires to handle a piece so identifiable," he explained. "You can't display it publicly, it cannot be passed to your children, there's no market for it."

Estimated £10m Worth

The detective suggests the stolen items will be dismantled and separated, with the gold and silver components melted and the precious stones divided into smaller components that will be nearly impossible to connect to the museum theft.

Jewellery historian a renowned expert, creator of the podcast If Jewels Could Talk and was the famous fashion magazine's jewelry specialist for 20 years, explained the robbers had "cherry-picked" the most important jewels from the museum's holdings.

The "impressively sized perfect gems" are expected to be extracted from their settings and sold, she noted, except for the headpiece of the historical figure which has smaller stones mounted in it and was "too recognizable to possess," she added.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned during the escape, along with one other item, and located by officials.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, has rare authentic pearls which command enormous prices, authorities indicate.

Even though the pieces are regarded as being beyond valuation, Ms Woolton anticipates they to be sold for a minimal part of their true price.

"They're destined to individuals who are able to acquire such items," she stated. "Authorities worldwide will search for these – the thieves will accept what they can get."

How much exactly would they generate financially if sold on? When asked about the possible worth of the haul, the expert indicated the separated elements could be worth "several million."

The precious stones and gold stolen could fetch approximately £10 million (€11.52m; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, chief executive of a prominent jeweler, a digital jewelry retailer.

The expert explained the thieves would need a skilled expert to separate the jewels, and a skilled stone worker to change the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold right away and despite challenges to determine the precise value of every gem taken, the larger ones may amount to around half a million pounds per stone, he said.

"We know there are at least four comparable in size, so adding all those pieces together with the gold components, one could estimate coming close to £10m," he said.

"The jewelry and luxury goods trade is active and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that won't inquire too many questions."

There are hopes that the stolen goods could reappear undamaged in the future – yet this possibility are narrowing as the days pass.

There is a precedent – a jewelry display at the V&A Museum includes an item of jewellery previously stolen which eventually returned in a public event several decades later.

Without doubt is many in France are extremely upset by the Louvre heist, demonstrating a cultural bond toward the treasures.

"We don't necessarily like jewellery as it symbolizes an issue of authority, and this isn't typically have a good connotation within French culture," Alexandre Leger, curatorial leader at French jeweller Maison Vever, stated