Will France Get Back Its Precious Crown Jewels – Or Is It Too Late?
French authorities are making every effort to recover irreplaceable treasures robbed from the Louvre Museum in a brazen broad daylight theft, but experts caution it might be past the point of recovery to save them.
In Paris on Sunday, burglars entered by force the top tourist attraction worldwide, making off with eight cherished pieces then fleeing via motor scooters in a bold robbery that took about just minutes.
Expert art detective an expert in the field stated publicly he believes the stolen items could be "long gone", after being taken apart into hundreds of parts.
There is a strong chance the stolen jewels could be sold off for a fraction of their worth and illegally transported from French territory, other experts indicated.
Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery
The group were professionals, as the detective stated, evidenced by the fact they were through the museum of the Louvre in record time.
"As you might expect, for an average individual, people don't suddenly decide one day believing, I should become a thief, and begin with the world-famous museum," he noted.
"This likely isn't their initial robbery," he added. "They've carried out things before. They're self-assured and they thought, we could succeed with this, and went for it."
In another sign the skill of the gang is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "strong track record in resolving major theft cases" has been given responsibility with finding them.
Law enforcement have indicated they think the heist is linked to a criminal organization.
Sophisticated gangs such as these usually pursue two objectives, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. "Either they operate for the benefit of a financier, or to obtain precious stones to conduct illegal financial activities."
The detective suggests it would be highly unlikely to sell the items in their original form, and he noted stealing-to-order for an individual buyer is something that mainly exists in fictional stories.
"Nobody wants to acquire a piece so hot," he stated. "You cannot show it to acquaintances, you cannot leave it to family, it cannot be sold."
Estimated £10m Value
The detective suggests the stolen items are likely broken down and separated, along with gold elements and silver melted down and the jewels re-cut into smaller components that could be extremely difficult to track back to the museum theft.
Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, who presents the digital series focusing on gemstones and formerly worked as the prestigious publication's gemstone expert for many years, explained the perpetrators had "carefully selected" the most significant gemstones from the institution's artifacts.
The "beautiful large perfect gems" are expected to be removed of their mountings and marketed, she explained, excluding the headpiece of Empress Eugénie which contains smaller gems mounted in it and was considered "too recognizable to keep," she explained.
This potentially clarifies the reason it was abandoned while fleeing, in addition to a second artifact, and located by officials.
The royal crown that disappeared, contains extremely rare authentic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.
Although the artifacts are considered being priceless, Ms Woolton expects them could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.
"They're destined to someone who is willing to acquire such items," she said. "Everyone will be looking for these items – the thieves will accept what they can get."
How much exactly would they generate financially upon being marketed? When asked about the estimated price of the loot, the expert stated the dismantled components may amount to "multiple millions."
The precious stones and removed precious metal could fetch as much as £10 million (millions in euros; $13.4m), says Tobias Kormind, senior official of an established company, an online jeweller.
The expert explained the gang must have a skilled expert to extract the stones, and an expert gem cutter to modify the bigger identifiable gems.
Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable would be disposed of immediately and although difficult to estimate the precise value of every gem taken, the more significant gems could be worth about half a million pounds each, he noted.
"There are a minimum of four of that size, thus totaling each of them along with the gold components, one could estimate approaching ten million," he stated.
"The diamond and luxury goods trade is active and plenty of customers operate in less regulated areas that avoid questioning regarding sources."
Hope persists that the artifacts might resurface in original condition one day – but those hopes are fading over time.
There is a precedent – the Cartier exhibition at the V&A Museum features an item of jewellery taken decades ago before reappearing in a sale many years after.
Definitely is many in France are deeply shocked about the museum robbery, having felt a personal connection toward the treasures.
"French people don't always value gems because it's a matter concerning power, and which doesn't always receive favorable interpretation within French culture," Alexandre Leger, curatorial leader at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, said