Just days after a stunning heist at the Louvre Museum, speculation is growing around where the lavish, stolen jewels that once adorned France's royals might end up.

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.

Eight priceless royal jewels, including crowns and necklaces, were stolen from the Louvre in a four-minute heist.

The precious artifacts snatched from Paris’s Louvre Museum on Sunday include an emerald necklace gifted by Napoleon to his second wife and other priceless crown jewels.

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 Louvre in Paris is open again, days after the spectacular robbery at the world-renowned museum, the latest in a series of robberies that has left visitors puzzling over empty cabinets and police in search of clues.

The Louvre Museum opened its doors at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning in Paris -- the first time it has welcomed the public since Sunday’s robbery.

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.

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.

High visitor numbers and dwindling funds for overhauls may have made the landmark museum unexpectedly vulnerable.

No security cameras were monitoring the second-floor balcony where thieves gained access to the Louvre to steal historic jewels worth over $100 million, the museum’s director told a French Senate committee hearing.

A specialized police unit is investigating a brazen daytime heist of eight pieces of jewelry worth about $102 million from Paris' Louvre Museum.