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French authorities are urgently trying to retrieve irreplaceable treasures taken from the Louvre in a daring broad daylight theft, but experts are concerned it could be past the point of recovery to save them.

In Paris over the weekend, burglars entered by force the world's most-visited museum, making off with eight cherished pieces then fleeing using scooters in a daring heist that was completed in eight minutes.

International art investigator Arthur Brand expressed his view he suspects the artifacts are likely "long gone", once separated into hundreds of parts.

It is highly likely the pieces will be sold for a mere percentage of their value and taken out of French territory, other experts noted.

Who May Be Behind the Heist

The perpetrators acted professionally, Mr Brand believes, shown by the way they managed in and out of the Louvre so quickly.

"Realistically speaking, for regular people, you don't wake up one day thinking, I should become a thief, choosing as first target the Louvre Museum," he noted.

"This likely isn't the first time they've done this," he said. "They've committed things before. They're self-assured and they calculated, we might get away with this attempt, and went for it."

In another sign the professionalism of the thieves is treated as important, a specialist police unit with a "proven effectiveness in resolving significant crimes" has been tasked with finding them.

Law enforcement have stated they think the robbery relates to an organised crime network.

Criminal organizations of this type usually pursue two main goals, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated. "Either to act working for a client, or to secure expensive jewelry to perform illegal financial activities."

Mr Brand thinks it is highly unlikely to dispose of the artifacts intact, and he noted stealing-to-order for a specific client is a scenario that typically occurs in fictional stories.

"Few people wish to handle a piece so identifiable," he explained. "You cannot show it to acquaintances, you cannot leave it to family, there's no market for it."

Possible £10m Value

The expert thinks the objects are likely broken down and broken up, including the gold and silver melted down and the jewels divided into less recognizable pieces that could be virtually impossible to trace back to the Paris heist.

Historical jewelry specialist a renowned expert, who presents the podcast If Jewels Could Talk and formerly worked as the famous fashion magazine's jewellery editor for 20 years, told the BBC the perpetrators had "carefully selected" the most valuable jewels from the Louvre's collection.

The "magnificent perfect gems" would likely be removed from the jewelry pieces and marketed, she said, except for the headpiece of the French empress which has smaller stones mounted in it and proved to be "too dangerous to keep," she explained.

This might account for why they left it behind during the escape, together with a second artifact, and recovered by police.

The imperial headpiece which was stolen, contains extremely rare organic pearls which command enormous prices, specialists confirm.

Although the artifacts are regarded as being beyond valuation, the historian anticipates they will be disposed of for a minimal part of their true price.

"They're destined to individuals who is willing to handle these," she said. "Everyone will be looking for the stolen goods – they will take any amount available."

What specific amount would they generate as payment if sold on? Regarding the potential value of the haul, Mr Brand said the dismantled components could be worth "many millions."

The gems and taken gold may bring as much as a significant sum (millions in euros; millions in US currency), stated by Tobias Kormind, senior official of a prominent jeweler, an internet-based gem dealer.

The expert explained the perpetrators would need a trained specialist to extract the stones, and a skilled stone worker to alter the bigger identifiable gems.

Less noticeable gems that were not easily identifiable might be marketed immediately and despite challenges to determine the exact price of every gem removed, the larger ones could be worth about £500,000 for individual pieces, he said.

"There are at least four of that size, so adding each of them together with the precious metal, you are probably coming close to £10m," he concluded.

"The diamond and gemstone market has buyers and there are many buyers on the fringes that don't ask about origins."

Hope persists that the stolen goods could reappear undamaged in the future – yet this possibility are narrowing over time.

There is a precedent – a historical showcase at the cultural institution displays a piece of jewelry previously stolen that later resurfaced in an auction many years after.

Definitely includes the French public are deeply shocked regarding the theft, expressing an emotional attachment with the artifacts.

"There isn't always appreciate jewelry as it symbolizes a question of power, and that doesn't necessarily carry positive associations among French people," a jewelry authority, curatorial leader at established French company Maison Vever, stated