PARIS -- PARIS (AP) — The glittering sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds that once adorned France's royals could well be gone forever, experts say after a brazen, four-minute heist in broad daylight left the nation stunned and the government struggling to explain a new debacle at the Louvre.

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.

Prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who is leading the investigation, said in an Oct. 21 interview with RTL, a French radio network, the jewels are worth an estimated 88 million euros. That amounts to an estimated $102 million dollars. Beccuau said the value was derived by a museum conservator.

French investigators continued to search for eight stolen items after unidentified thieves carried out a daring daytime heist at the Louvre.

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.

Officials say suspects used a truck-mounted basket lift and power tools to carry out the brazen Sunday morning theft at the world’s most-visited museum.

L ONDON -- After an estimated $100 million worth of jewels were stolen at the Louvre in Paris, the museum’s director was summoned to appear before French lawmakers amid the ongoing investigation and manhunt.

Wild new footage shows the thieves who stole $100 million of previous jewels from the Louvre making a slow getaway on a mobile lift.