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Police in France are desperate to retrieve irreplaceable jewels taken from the Louvre in a brazen daylight robbery, although specialists have warned it may already be impossible to get them back.

Within the French capital this past Sunday, thieves entered by force the world's most-visited museum, stealing eight precious artifacts before escaping on scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in just minutes.

Expert art detective Arthur Brand told the BBC he feared the artifacts may already be "dispersed", once separated into many fragments.

Experts suggest the stolen jewels will be sold for a small part of their true price and taken out of France, several authorities indicated.

Who May Be Behind the Robbery

The group acted professionally, Mr Brand believes, as demonstrated by the way they managed in and out of the Louvre so quickly.

"Realistically speaking, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide one day thinking, I'm going to become a burglar, let's start with the world-famous museum," he noted.

"This isn't their first heist," he continued. "They've carried out other burglaries. They feel certain and they thought, we could succeed with this, and went for it."

As further evidence the skill of the thieves is considered significant, a specialist police unit with a "strong track record in solving significant crimes" has been tasked with tracking them down.

Authorities have stated they think the robbery is linked to an organised crime network.

Criminal organizations like these generally have two primary purposes, Paris prosecutor the prosecutor explained. "Either they operate on behalf of a financier, or to secure expensive jewelry to conduct financial crimes."

The expert believes it would be highly unlikely to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he said stealing-to-order for a private collector is something that mainly exists in Hollywood films.

"Few people wish to touch an item this recognizable," he explained. "You can't display it publicly, it cannot be passed to your children, there's no market for it."

Possible £10m Worth

The detective suggests the stolen items will be dismantled and broken up, with the gold and silver melted down and the precious stones re-cut into smaller stones that will be virtually impossible to track back to the Louvre robbery.

Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, creator of the podcast If Jewels Could Talk and was the prestigious publication's gemstone expert for two decades, stated the thieves had "specifically chosen" the most important treasures from the Louvre's collection.

The "magnificent flawless stones" would likely be extracted from their settings and marketed, she said, with the exception of the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which contains smaller gems set in it and was "too recognizable to possess," she explained.

This might account for why it was dropped as they got away, along with one other item, and found by authorities.

The royal crown that disappeared, contains extremely rare authentic pearls which command enormous prices, experts say.

Although the artifacts have been described as having immeasurable worth, the historian believes they could be marketed for a fraction of their worth.

"They will go to individuals who is willing to handle these," she stated. "Everyone will be looking for these – they'll settle for what they can get."

How much exactly would they generate as payment when disposed of? When asked about the potential value of the stolen goods, the expert stated the separated elements could be worth "many millions."

The gems and gold stolen may bring up to a significant sum (over eleven million euros; thirteen million dollars), stated by an industry expert, senior official of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.

The expert explained the thieves would need a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to modify the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable might be marketed right away and although difficult to determine the exact price of each piece stolen, the larger ones may amount to approximately a significant amount for individual pieces, he explained.

"Reports indicate at least four comparable in size, thus totaling all those pieces along with the gold components, one could estimate approaching the estimated figure," he stated.

"The gemstone and gemstone market has buyers and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that avoid questioning too many questions."

Hope persists that the stolen goods might resurface in original condition one day – but those hopes are fading as the days pass.

Historical examples exist – a historical showcase at the V&A Museum includes an artifact taken decades ago which eventually returned in an auction much later.

Definitely is many in France are extremely upset about the museum robbery, demonstrating a personal connection with the artifacts.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry as it symbolizes a question of power, and which doesn't always have a good connotation in France," a heritage expert, director of historical collections at French jeweller the historical business, said