Thieves used a stolen truck-mounted moving lift to scale the Louvre and steal royal jewels worth over $100 million in a lightning-fast Paris heist.

Laurence des Cars, the Louvre's president and director, is set to testify about the heist before the French Senate's Culture, Education and Sport Committee on Oct. 22.

Authorities raced against the clock Tuesday as experts in art security told NBC News it could already be too late to recover the jewels.

The French crown jewels robbed from the Louvre museum in Paris are likely lost forever, an art crime expert tells CBS News, even if the thieves are caught.

The theft of priceless jewels from the Louvre in daylight has sent shockwaves through France, but the country is far from the first to be stung by art thieves.

Authorities were racing Monday to reassure the public about security at key cultural sites — and find the jewels stolen from the museum before they can be broken up and melted down.

Police are searching for thieves who stole eight pieces of "royal jewelry" from France's Louvre museum. Robert Wittman, former senior investigator and founder of the FBI's National Art Crime Team, joins CBS News to examine the case.