…Because the metals are likely melted down for scrap value and the jewels are probably popped out and sold to gray-market connections. Unless you happen to run into a jeweler who REALLY KNOWS THEIR SHIT, there’s really not a good way to trace a gem back to the piece it came from unless that jewel is incredibly identifiable, not worked further after its theft, and of a known provenance.
It’s not “oh there’s a shadowy dude who ordered them to be stolen away so they could be cashed in”, it’s because jewelry theft is a highly practiced art and anyone smart enough to put a heist together like this and simply vanish is also smart enough to make sure the evidence is gone within days. Puts real reasonable doubt into a jury or judge when your prosecutor has to say “well, we don’t HAVE THE JEWELRY, and we can’t GET IT BACK, but I swear this is the dude”.
…Because the metals are likely melted down for scrap value and the jewels are probably popped out and sold to gray-market connections. Unless you happen to run into a jeweler who REALLY KNOWS THEIR SHIT, there’s really not a good way to trace a gem back to the piece it came from unless that jewel is incredibly identifiable, not worked further after its theft, and of a known provenance.
It’s not “oh there’s a shadowy dude who ordered them to be stolen away so they could be cashed in”, it’s because jewelry theft is a highly practiced art and anyone smart enough to put a heist together like this and simply vanish is also smart enough to make sure the evidence is gone within days. Puts real reasonable doubt into a jury or judge when your prosecutor has to say “well, we don’t HAVE THE JEWELRY, and we can’t GET IT BACK, but I swear this is the dude”.
It’s like having your car stolen and chopped.