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Police in France are making every effort to retrieve priceless treasures stolen from the Louvre in a audacious daylight robbery, yet authorities are concerned it may already be past the point of recovery to get them back.

At the heart of Paris this past Sunday, robbers broke into the most popular museum globally, making off with eight precious artifacts and getting away via motor scooters in a bold robbery that was completed in eight minutes.

Expert art detective an expert in the field stated publicly he believes the stolen items could be "dispersed", after being taken apart into hundreds of parts.

There is a strong chance the pieces could be sold off for a mere percentage of their value and illegally transported from French territory, additional specialists have said.

Possible Culprits Behind the Heist

The thieves were professionals, as the detective stated, shown by the speed with which they got inside and outside of the building with such efficiency.

"As you might expect, as a normal person, people don't suddenly decide one day planning, I'm going to become a criminal, and begin with the Louvre Museum," he explained.

"This won't be their initial robbery," he continued. "They have done things before. They feel certain and they calculated, it might work out with this, and proceeded."

As further evidence the skill of the thieves is considered significant, a dedicated task force with a "proven effectiveness in resolving significant crimes" has been tasked with tracking them down.

Authorities have said they believe the theft is linked to a criminal organization.

Sophisticated gangs like these generally have two primary purposes, French prosecutor a senior official stated. "Either they operate working for a sponsor, or to acquire valuable gems to carry out money laundering operations."

The expert believes it would be extremely difficult to market the jewels intact, and he explained targeted robbery for a private collector is a scenario that mainly exists in fictional stories.

"No one desires to handle an artifact so identifiable," he explained. "You cannot show it to acquaintances, it cannot be passed to family, it cannot be sold."

Potential £10m Worth

The detective suggests the stolen items are likely broken down and separated, including the gold and silver melted down and the gems re-cut into smaller components that could be extremely difficult to track back to the museum theft.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, host of the digital series If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for 20 years, told the BBC the thieves had "cherry-picked" the most valuable gemstones from the museum's holdings.

The "impressively sized flawless stones" would likely be extracted from the jewelry pieces and sold, she said, except for the tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie which features less valuable pieces set in it and was "too dangerous to possess," she continued.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned while fleeing, in addition to another piece, and found by authorities.

The royal crown which was stolen, has rare authentic pearls which have a very large value, authorities indicate.

While the items are considered having immeasurable worth, Ms Woolton anticipates they will be disposed of for a small percentage of their value.

"They're destined to someone who is willing to take possession," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these items – they will take whatever price is offered."

What specific amount could they fetch as payment upon being marketed? Concerning the possible worth of the loot, the detective said the dismantled components may amount to "several million."

The gems and removed precious metal may bring up to £10 million (millions in euros; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, an internet-based gem dealer.

He stated the perpetrators will require a trained specialist to remove the gems, and an expert gem cutter to modify the larger recognisable stones.

Minor components that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold quickly and although difficult to determine the exact price of every gem stolen, the more significant gems could be worth around half a million pounds for individual pieces, he noted.

"We know there are a minimum of four that large, thus totaling all of those together with the gold, one could estimate approaching £10m," he said.

"The gemstone and gemstone market has buyers and numerous purchasers exist in less regulated areas that don't ask too many questions."

Hope persists that the items might resurface undamaged eventually – although such expectations are narrowing over time.

There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the London museum includes an artifact taken decades ago before reappearing in an auction several decades later.

What is certain includes the French public are extremely upset regarding the theft, expressing a personal connection to the jewels.

"French people don't always appreciate jewelry since it represents a question of privilege, and this isn't typically have a good connotation among French people," a heritage expert, director of historical collections at established French company the historical business, said