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Police in France are urgently trying to locate irreplaceable treasures taken from the Louvre in a daring daytime heist, but experts caution it could be past the point of recovery to save them.

Within the French capital this past Sunday, thieves gained access to the world's most-visited museum, making off with eight valued items and getting away on scooters in a bold robbery that lasted approximately under ten minutes.

Dutch art detective a renowned specialist stated publicly he suspects the jewels may already be "dispersed", once separated into hundreds of parts.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels will be sold for a mere percentage of their value and smuggled out of French territory, additional specialists noted.

Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery

The group acted professionally, as the detective stated, as demonstrated by the way they managed through the museum of the museum with such efficiency.

"You know, for regular people, people don't suddenly decide in the morning believing, I should become a criminal, let's start with the Louvre," he said.

"This won't be their first heist," he said. "They've committed things before. They're self-assured and they believed, it might work out with this plan, and took the chance."

As further evidence the professionalism of the gang is being taken seriously, a dedicated task force with a "strong track record in solving major theft cases" has been tasked with finding them.

Authorities have said they suspect the heist relates to a sophisticated gang.

Criminal organizations of this type generally have two main goals, legal official the prosecutor said. "Either they operate for the benefit of a financier, or to obtain valuable gems to perform financial crimes."

The expert believes it would be extremely difficult to dispose of the artifacts intact, and he said commissioned theft for a specific client represents a situation that mainly exists in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to acquire an item so hot," he explained. "It cannot be shown publicly, you can't bequeath it to your children, it cannot be sold."

Possible £10m Price Tag

The detective suggests the stolen items will be dismantled and separated, including the gold and silver melted down and the jewels re-cut into smaller components that would be nearly impossible to connect to the Paris heist.

Jewellery historian Carol Woolton, who presents the audio program If Jewels Could Talk and was Vogue magazine's jewelry specialist for 20 years, told the BBC the thieves had "carefully selected" the most significant gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large perfect gems" will probably be extracted from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she said, excluding the headpiece of the historical figure which contains smaller gems mounted in it and was considered "too hot to handle," she continued.

This could explain why they left it behind during the escape, together with a second artifact, and found by authorities.

The royal crown which was stolen, contains extremely rare organic pearls which are incredibly valuable, authorities indicate.

While the items are regarded as having immeasurable worth, the historian expects them will be disposed of for a fraction of their worth.

"They're destined to individuals who are prepared to take possession," she stated. "Everyone will be looking for these items – the thieves will accept what they can get."

What specific amount might they bring in money if sold on? Regarding the potential value of the stolen goods, the expert indicated the separated elements may amount to "many millions."

The jewels and gold stolen may bring up to a significant sum (€11.52m; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, senior official of 77 Diamonds, a digital jewelry retailer.

The expert explained the gang must have a trained specialist to separate the jewels, and a professional diamond cutter to modify the more noticeable pieces.

Less noticeable gems that were harder to trace could be sold immediately and although difficult to estimate the specific worth of each piece stolen, the more significant gems might value around half a million pounds per stone, he explained.

"We know there are no fewer than four comparable in size, therefore combining all those pieces along with the gold, it's likely reaching ten million," he concluded.

"The diamond and gemstone market is liquid and there are many buyers in less regulated areas that don't ask about origins."

Hope persists that the artifacts might resurface undamaged eventually – but those hopes are fading as the days pass.

Historical examples exist – a jewelry display at the V&A Museum includes a piece of jewelry taken decades ago before reappearing in an auction many years after.

What is certain includes the French public feel profoundly disturbed by the Louvre heist, expressing a personal connection to the jewels.

"There isn't always like jewellery because it's an issue of privilege, and that doesn't necessarily receive favorable interpretation among French people," Alexandre Leger, curatorial leader at French jeweller Maison Vever, explained