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Police in France are urgently trying to retrieve irreplaceable treasures taken from the Louvre Museum in a audacious daylight robbery, but experts caution it could be too late to get them back.

Within the French capital on Sunday, thieves broke into the most popular museum globally, taking eight valued items before escaping via motor scooters in a bold robbery that took about just minutes.

International art investigator an expert in the field expressed his view he suspects the stolen items could be "long gone", having been broken up into many fragments.

There is a strong chance the stolen jewels could be sold off for a small part of their true price and smuggled out of France, several authorities have said.

Potential Suspects Behind the Heist

The group were professionals, according to the expert, evidenced by the fact they were through the museum of the Louvre so quickly.

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

"This won't be their initial robbery," he continued. "They've carried out previous crimes. They are confident and they thought, we could succeed with this plan, and took the chance."

As further evidence the skill of the gang is being taken seriously, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in resolving significant crimes" has been given responsibility with finding them.

Authorities have stated they believe the theft is linked to a sophisticated gang.

Organised crime groups like these usually pursue two primary purposes, Paris prosecutor the prosecutor explained. "Either they operate for the benefit of a financier, or to acquire valuable gems to perform illegal financial activities."

Mr Brand thinks it is impossible to market the jewels as complete pieces, and he explained targeted robbery for an individual buyer is a scenario that typically occurs in movies.

"No one desires to handle an artifact so identifiable," he stated. "You can't display it to your friends, you cannot leave it to family, you cannot sell it."

Potential £10m Value

The expert thinks the artifacts will be dismantled and separated, including the gold and silver melted down and the jewels cut up into smaller stones that could be virtually impossible to trace back to the museum theft.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, creator of the digital series about historical jewelry and was Vogue magazine's gemstone expert for two decades, told the BBC the thieves had "specifically chosen" the most important jewels from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large exquisite jewels" would likely be extracted from their settings and marketed, she noted, except for the tiara belonging to the French empress which has smaller stones set in it and proved to be "too dangerous to possess," she explained.

This potentially clarifies why they left it behind during the escape, together with another piece, and recovered by police.

Empress Eugenie's tiara that was taken, contains extremely rare natural pearls which command enormous prices, authorities indicate.

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

"They'll likely end up to someone who is willing to acquire such items," she stated. "Everyone will be looking for the stolen goods – the thieves will accept any amount available."

The precise value would they generate financially if sold on? Regarding the estimated price of the loot, the expert indicated the cut-up parts might value "many millions."

The gems and taken gold may bring approximately £10 million (over eleven million euros; millions in US currency), says a jewelry specialist, chief executive of 77 Diamonds, an online jeweller.

He stated the perpetrators will require an experienced professional to separate the jewels, and a professional diamond cutter to alter the larger recognisable stones.

Minor components that were harder to trace might be marketed immediately and while it was hard to determine the specific worth of each piece removed, the more significant gems may amount to around £500,000 each, he said.

"We know there are no fewer than four that large, thus totaling each of them together with the gold components, you are probably reaching £10m," he concluded.

"The jewelry and luxury goods trade has buyers and numerous purchasers exist on the fringes that avoid questioning about origins."

Hope persists that the artifacts could reappear in original condition eventually – but those hopes are fading as the days pass.

Similar cases have occurred – the Cartier exhibition at the V&A Museum includes an item of jewellery stolen in 1948 before reappearing in an auction many years after.

Without doubt are numerous French citizens are extremely upset regarding the theft, expressing a personal connection to the jewels.

"There isn't always like jewellery because it's a matter concerning power, and this isn't typically carry positive associations in France," a heritage expert, head of heritage at French jeweller the prestigious firm, explained