What have the Louvre robbers done with the stolen jewels, and where might they be now?

The world’s most-watched art heist has, thus far, left investigators chasing whispers, not leads. Days after thieves slipped away from the Louvre with more than $100 million worth of royal jewels, experts say the gems may already have met a quieter, grimmer fate: the melting pot or the cutter’s wheel.

How famous jewels ‘disappear’?

Specialists in art crime warn that the stolen emerald necklaces, sapphire earrings and crowns once worn by French royalty could soon be dismantled beyond recognition. “You don’t even have to put them on a black market,” Erin Thompson, an art-crime professor at John Jay College in New York, told AP. “It could be sold down the street from the Louvre.”

By breaking down the pieces, thieves can strip away the history that makes them instantly recognizable, and turn priceless heritage into anonymous jewelry. Former FBI art investigator Robert Wittman calls it the hardest part of any heist. “The real art in an art heist isn’t the stealing, it’s the selling,” he said.

Can experts identify broken jewels?

Unfortunately for the criminals, destroying the jewels isn’t foolproof. Gold refined centuries ago carries telltale impurities, and some gems remain traceable by their clarity. Others, however, can indeed be recut until even experts struggle to place them.

What is the Louvre thieves’ plan?

Investigators believe the robbers likely have a plan – or a buyer – already in mind. Scott Guginsky of the Jewelers’ Security Alliance told AP that thieves often “sit on” such loot until attention fades. Still, with the pieces uninsured and the French government yet to offer a public reward, few expect the full trove to resurface intact.

Christopher Marinello of Art Recovery International puts it bluntly: “They’re going to catch the criminals. But I don’t think they’ll find them with the jewels intact.”

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