Can France Recover Its Invaluable Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?

Police in France are desperate to locate extremely valuable treasures taken from the Paris museum in a audacious broad daylight theft, although specialists are concerned it may already be too late to save them.

In Paris this past Sunday, burglars entered by force the world's most-visited museum, taking eight valued items then fleeing on scooters in a bold robbery that took about under ten minutes.

Expert art detective Arthur Brand expressed his view he suspects the stolen items may already be "already dismantled", having been broken up into many fragments.

It is highly likely the artifacts could be sold off for a fraction of their worth and smuggled out of French territory, several authorities indicated.

Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery

The perpetrators acted professionally, according to the expert, evidenced by the speed with which they got through the museum of the building with such efficiency.

"As you might expect, as a normal person, you don't wake up one day believing, I'm going to become a burglar, let's start with the world-famous museum," he explained.

"This likely isn't their first heist," he added. "They've committed other burglaries. They're self-assured and they calculated, it might work out with this, and took the chance."

As further evidence the professionalism of the gang is considered significant, an elite police team with a "proven effectiveness in resolving significant crimes" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.

Police officials have indicated they think the heist relates to an organised crime network.

Sophisticated gangs like these usually pursue two primary purposes, French prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. "Either they operate working for a sponsor, or to obtain valuable gems to carry out money laundering operations."

Mr Brand thinks it is highly unlikely to dispose of the artifacts as complete pieces, and he said targeted robbery for a specific client represents a situation that only happens in Hollywood films.

"Few people wish to acquire a piece this recognizable," he stated. "You cannot show it publicly, it cannot be passed to family, you cannot sell it."

Potential £10m Price Tag

The detective suggests the objects will be dismantled and broken up, including the gold and silver components melted and the jewels cut up into less recognizable pieces that could be nearly impossible to connect to the museum theft.

Gemstone expert Carol Woolton, who presents the digital series focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's jewelry specialist for 20 years, explained the robbers had "carefully selected" the most valuable gemstones from the Louvre's collection.

The "magnificent perfect gems" are expected to be dug out from the jewelry pieces and sold, she noted, with the exception of the headpiece of the French empress which features less valuable pieces set in it and was considered "too dangerous to handle," she added.

This potentially clarifies the reason it was abandoned during the escape, together with a second artifact, and recovered by police.

The imperial headpiece that disappeared, contains extremely rare organic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.

Although the artifacts have been described as having immeasurable worth, the expert anticipates they to be sold for a fraction of their worth.

"They will go to someone who are prepared to handle these," she said. "Everyone will be looking for these – the thieves will accept what they can get."

The precise value could they fetch as payment if sold on? Regarding the estimated price of the stolen goods, the detective indicated the dismantled components might value "multiple millions."

The jewels and removed precious metal could fetch up to £10 million (millions in euros; thirteen million dollars), stated by Tobias Kormind, managing director of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer.

He stated the perpetrators would need a skilled expert to extract the stones, and a professional diamond cutter to modify the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that couldn't be easily recognized would be disposed of right away and despite challenges to tell the precise value of every gem removed, the larger ones may amount to around a significant amount each, he explained.

"Reports indicate at least four of that size, so adding each of them together with the gold, one could estimate coming close to £10m," he stated.

"The jewelry and luxury goods trade is active and plenty of customers operate within gray markets that don't ask regarding sources."

Some optimism remains that the stolen goods may be found intact in the future – although such expectations are diminishing with each passing day.

There is a precedent – a jewelry display at the V&A Museum displays a piece of jewelry taken decades ago that later resurfaced in a public event several decades later.

Without doubt includes the French public are extremely upset about the museum robbery, having felt a personal connection with the artifacts.

"There isn't always like jewellery as it symbolizes a matter concerning privilege, and which doesn't always receive favorable interpretation in France," a jewelry authority, curatorial leader at established French company Maison Vever, explained

Nicholas Kline
Nicholas Kline

Tech enthusiast and smart home expert with a passion for reviewing cutting-edge gadgets and simplifying IoT for everyday users.