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Law enforcement in France are urgently trying to recover irreplaceable gemstones taken from the Louvre Museum in a audacious daylight robbery, but experts have warned it could be past the point of recovery to get them back.

In Paris on Sunday, thieves entered by force the most popular museum globally, making off with eight precious artifacts then fleeing using scooters in a daring heist that took about just minutes.

Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told the BBC he feared the artifacts may already be "already dismantled", having been broken up into many fragments.

It is highly likely the stolen jewels will be sold for a small part of their true price and taken out of France, additional specialists have said.

Possible Culprits Behind the Robbery

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.

"Realistically speaking, for regular people, you don't wake up one day thinking, I will become a thief, let's start with the Louvre," he explained.

"This likely isn't their initial robbery," he continued. "They have done other burglaries. They're self-assured and they believed, we could succeed with this, and proceeded."

In another sign the expertise of the thieves is being taken seriously, a specialist police unit with a "strong track record in cracking high-profile robberies" has been given responsibility with locating the perpetrators.

Police officials have said they suspect the heist relates to a criminal organization.

Organised crime groups of this type typically have two objectives, legal official a senior official explained. "Either to act for the benefit of a sponsor, or to obtain precious stones to conduct money laundering operations."

The expert believes it is extremely difficult to dispose of the artifacts in their original form, and he explained commissioned theft for a specific client is something that only happens in Hollywood films.

"Nobody wants to handle an item so identifiable," he elaborated. "You cannot show it to your friends, it cannot be passed to your children, there's no market for it."

Potential £10m Value

The expert thinks the objects will be dismantled and separated, including the gold and precious metals liquefied and the jewels re-cut into smaller components that could be virtually impossible to trace back to the Paris heist.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, host of the digital series about historical jewelry and was Vogue magazine's jewellery editor for 20 years, told the BBC the robbers had "carefully selected" the most important gemstones from the institution's artifacts.

The "beautiful large flawless stones" would likely be extracted from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she noted, excluding the crown from Empress Eugénie which features less valuable pieces set in it and was considered "too hot to possess," she continued.

This might account for the reason it was abandoned as they got away, together with one other item, and located by officials.

Empress Eugenie's tiara which was stolen, has rare natural pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.

While the items have been described as having immeasurable worth, the expert believes they will be disposed of for a small percentage of their value.

"They'll likely end up to someone who is willing to acquire such items," she explained. "Everyone will be looking for these – they will take what they can get."

How much exactly might they bring in money if sold on? Regarding the possible worth of the stolen goods, the detective said the dismantled components could be worth "multiple millions."

The precious stones and gold stolen may bring as much as £10 million (€11.52m; thirteen million dollars), stated by Tobias Kormind, senior official of an established company, an internet-based gem dealer.

The expert explained the perpetrators will require an experienced professional to separate the jewels, and a skilled stone worker to modify the larger recognisable stones.

Smaller stones that were not easily identifiable would be disposed of immediately and despite challenges to determine the specific worth of all the stones taken, the larger ones might value about half a million pounds each, he explained.

"Reports indicate a minimum of four of that size, so adding each of them together with the precious metal, it's likely coming close to the estimated figure," he said.

"The jewelry and luxury goods trade is active and plenty of customers operate in less regulated areas that don't ask too many questions."

Some optimism remains that the stolen goods may be found in original condition in the future – although such expectations are diminishing over time.

Historical examples exist – a jewelry display at the London museum includes an item of jewellery taken decades ago which eventually returned in an auction many years after.

Definitely includes the French public feel profoundly disturbed regarding the theft, expressing an emotional attachment to the jewels.

"There isn't always like jewellery because it's a question of privilege, and which doesn't always have a good connotation among French people," a jewelry authority, curatorial leader at Parisian jewelry house Maison Vever, stated