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Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to locate extremely valuable jewels taken from the Paris museum in a brazen daytime heist, but experts have warned it could be too late to save them.

At the heart of Paris on Sunday, robbers broke into the top tourist attraction worldwide, making off with eight cherished pieces before escaping on scooters in a daring heist that was completed in just minutes.

International art investigator Arthur Brand told the BBC he suspects the stolen items may already be "already dismantled", once separated into numerous components.

Experts suggest the pieces could be sold off for a small part of their true price and illegally transported from French territory, other experts indicated.

Who May Be Behind the Heist

The perpetrators are experienced criminals, as the detective stated, shown by the way they managed through the museum of the Louvre so quickly.

"Realistically speaking, for regular people, people don't suddenly decide one day planning, I should become a criminal, let's start with the world-famous museum," he noted.

"This won't be the first time they've done this," he continued. "They've carried out other burglaries. They are confident and they believed, we could succeed with this, and went for it."

In another sign the expertise of the group is considered significant, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in solving major theft cases" has been assigned with tracking them down.

Police officials have said they believe the robbery relates to a criminal organization.

Criminal organizations like these typically have two primary purposes, French prosecutor Laure Beccuau explained. "Either to act on behalf of a sponsor, or to obtain valuable gems to carry out financial crimes."

The detective suggests it seems impossible to market the jewels intact, and he noted stealing-to-order for an individual buyer is a scenario that typically occurs in Hollywood films.

"Nobody wants to touch an artifact this recognizable," he explained. "It cannot be shown to your friends, you cannot leave it to family, it cannot be sold."

Potential £10m Price Tag

Mr Brand believes the artifacts will be dismantled and broken up, with the gold and precious metals liquefied and the jewels divided into less recognizable pieces that could be nearly impossible to trace back to the Louvre robbery.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, host of the podcast focusing on gemstones and previously served as the prestigious publication's jewellery editor for many years, explained the robbers had "carefully selected" the most valuable treasures from the Louvre's collection.

The "impressively sized exquisite jewels" will probably be dug out of their mountings and disposed of, she noted, excluding the tiara belonging to the French empress which features less valuable pieces set in it and proved to be "too recognizable to possess," she added.

This potentially clarifies the reason it was abandoned during the escape, in addition to one other item, and located by officials.

The royal crown that disappeared, features exceptionally uncommon authentic pearls which have a very large value, specialists confirm.

While the items are considered having immeasurable worth, the expert believes they could be marketed for a small percentage of their value.

"They'll likely end up to individuals who are prepared to handle these," she stated. "Many people will seek for these items – they will take whatever price is offered."

The precise value could they fetch in money upon being marketed? When asked about the possible worth of the stolen goods, Mr Brand indicated the cut-up parts might value "several million."

The precious stones and gold stolen could fetch approximately £10 million (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says an industry expert, managing director of an established company, a digital jewelry retailer.

He stated the perpetrators will require a trained specialist to remove the gems, and a skilled stone worker to alter the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that couldn't be easily recognized could be sold immediately and while it was hard to tell the precise value of each piece removed, the larger ones might value about £500,000 each, he explained.

"We know there are at least four comparable in size, thus totaling each of them along with the gold components, it's likely coming close to ten million," he said.

"The jewelry and precious stone industry is liquid and plenty of customers operate in less regulated areas that avoid questioning regarding sources."

Hope persists that the artifacts may be found intact eventually – but those hopes are diminishing with each passing day.

Historical examples exist – a jewelry display at the cultural institution includes an item of jewellery previously stolen that later resurfaced in an auction several decades later.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens feel profoundly disturbed regarding the theft, having felt an emotional attachment with the artifacts.

"There isn't always like jewellery since it represents a question of privilege, and that doesn't necessarily have a good connotation in France," Alexandre Leger, director of historical collections at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, stated