“Smarter thieves take things like jewelry … because you can melt down the metal and recut the stones, and then those pieces just disappear,” Thompson said.
Former FBI art crime investigator Robert Wittman agrees. He said the real fear is the stolen jewels will be melted down, destroying their cultural significance.
“You lose the cultural artifact,” Wittman said. “Gold just went over €4,100 ($4,780 U.S. dollars) an ounce last week. So gold is a very, very hot commodity right now.”