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French authorities are making every effort to locate extremely valuable gemstones robbed from the Paris museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, but experts are concerned it might be too late to recover them.

In Paris over the weekend, thieves gained access to the most popular museum globally, stealing eight cherished pieces before escaping via motor scooters in a bold robbery that took about under ten minutes.

Dutch art detective an expert in the field expressed his view he feared the stolen items may already be "long gone", having been broken up into many fragments.

There is a strong chance the artifacts may be disposed of for a mere percentage of their value and illegally transported from French territory, additional specialists indicated.

Who May Be Behind the Robbery

The group acted professionally, according to the expert, shown by the way they managed inside and outside of the building with such efficiency.

"As you might expect, for regular people, you don't wake up in the morning thinking, I should become a criminal, and begin with the world-famous museum," he noted.

"This likely isn't their first heist," he said. "They've committed previous crimes. They feel certain and they calculated, it might work out with this plan, and proceeded."

In another sign the professionalism of the group is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "strong track record in solving significant crimes" has been tasked with locating the perpetrators.

Authorities have stated they think the theft is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Sophisticated gangs of this type typically have two objectives, legal official Laure Beccuau explained. "Either to act for the benefit of a financier, or to obtain precious stones to perform money laundering operations."

The expert believes it seems impossible to dispose of the artifacts intact, and he said targeted robbery for a specific client is a scenario that mainly exists in movies.

"Nobody wants to touch an item this recognizable," he elaborated. "You cannot show it to your friends, it cannot be passed to heirs, you cannot sell it."

Estimated £10m Price Tag

Mr Brand believes the objects will be taken apart and separated, along with gold elements and silver melted down and the precious stones cut up into smaller components that could be nearly impossible to trace back to the museum theft.

Jewellery historian a renowned expert, creator of the audio program about historical jewelry and previously served as the famous fashion magazine's gemstone expert for two decades, told the BBC the perpetrators had "cherry-picked" the most important jewels from the Louvre's collection.

The "impressively sized exquisite jewels" would likely be extracted from their settings and marketed, she noted, with the exception of the tiara belonging to the French empress which features less valuable pieces set in it and proved to be "too recognizable to handle," she explained.

This potentially clarifies why it was dropped during the escape, along with another piece, and recovered by police.

The imperial headpiece that was taken, contains extremely rare natural pearls which command enormous prices, authorities indicate.

While the items are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the expert anticipates they will be disposed of for a minimal part of their true price.

"They're destined to individuals who is willing to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these – they will take any amount available."

The precise value could they fetch in money if sold on? When asked about the potential value of the haul, Mr Brand said the separated elements might value "multiple millions."

The precious stones and removed precious metal may bring as much as ten million pounds (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, managing director of 77 Diamonds, an online jeweller.

The expert explained the gang must have a skilled expert to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to alter the larger recognisable stones.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable might be marketed quickly and despite challenges to estimate the specific worth of every gem taken, the bigger stones may amount to approximately a significant amount for individual pieces, he said.

"There are no fewer than four of that size, thus totaling all of those up plus the gold components, it's likely approaching £10m," he stated.

"The gemstone and luxury goods trade is active and numerous purchasers exist in less regulated areas that won't inquire about origins."

Some optimism remains that the artifacts may be found in original condition one day – but those hopes are diminishing with each passing day.

Historical examples exist – the Cartier exhibition at the London museum includes an artifact taken decades ago which eventually returned in a public event several decades later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens are extremely upset about the museum robbery, having felt a cultural bond to the jewels.

"There isn't always value gems since it represents an issue of power, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation in France," a heritage expert, head of heritage at French jeweller the prestigious firm, stated