The jewellery theft at the Louvre museum in Paris, estimated to be worth around 88 million euros ($102 million), was undertaken within minutes in broad daylight on Sunday.
While the museum reopened on Wednesday for the first time following the heist, the French government and the robbers are both racing against time.
In the heist, eight pieces which were part of a collection whose crown jewels date back to the 16th century, when King Francis I declared that they belonged to France, were stolen. These include an emerald necklace and earrings, two crowns, two brooches, a sapphire necklace and a single earring.
According to the Paris prosecutor's office, the four suspected robbers split into pairs of two, with two people in a truck parked with an extendable ladder. Two men wearing bright yellow jackets broke into the gallery at 9:34 am and left the room at 9:38 am, before fleeing the scene on the motorbikes, the prosecutor's office added.
Where the stolen jewels might end up
As speculation around where the jewels might end up grows, a handful of experts have warned that the artifacts could soon, if not already, been melted or broken into parts, according to the Associated Press.
- The smaller pieces of the jewels, if melted or broken down successfully, can go up for sale as part of new jewellery pieces without turning heads, experts say. Erin Thompson, an art crime professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said these do not even have to be put on a black market.
- “You just put them in a jewelry store… It could be sold down the street from the Louvre,” Thompson said. Thompson and other experts say this method of making new pieces from the jewels has become increasingly common recently with stolen goods, adding that thieves use it to cover their tracks and make money, according to AP.
- The jewels could become even more “traceless” if taken out of France, Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and founder of Art Recovery International, told AP.
- The robbers might “sit on” the jewellery to wait out suspicion, said Scott Guginsky, executive vice president of the Jewelers’ Security Alliance, a nonprofit trade association focused on preventing jewelry crime. He said the thieves might have had a plan ready to sell the jewels. Guginsky made the deduction based on the planning of the theft.
As speculation around where the jewels might end up grows, a handful of experts have warned that the artifacts could soon, if not already, been melted or broken into parts, according to the Associated Press.
- The smaller pieces of the jewels, if melted or broken down successfully, can go up for sale as part of new jewellery pieces without turning heads, experts say. Erin Thompson, an art crime professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said these do not even have to be put on a black market.
- “You just put them in a jewelry store… It could be sold down the street from the Louvre,” Thompson said. Thompson and other experts say this method of making new pieces from the jewels has become increasingly common recently with stolen goods, adding that thieves use it to cover their tracks and make money, according to AP.
- The jewels could become even more “traceless” if taken out of France, Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and founder of Art Recovery International, told AP.
- The robbers might “sit on” the jewellery to wait out suspicion, said Scott Guginsky, executive vice president of the Jewelers’ Security Alliance, a nonprofit trade association focused on preventing jewelry crime. He said the thieves might have had a plan ready to sell the jewels. Guginsky made the deduction based on the planning of the theft.
Sara Yood, CEO and general counsel of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, says the broken down jewels might be harder to track, given that these historical pieces might not have laser inscription as an identifying feature, according to the AP report. The newer gemstones carry the inscription which can be evaluated in a lab.