'Priceless' haul of museum jewels likely recut and melted down

Thieves who made off with a "priceless" haul of diamond-encrusted treasures from a museum in Germany on Monday may have already melted down metals and recut precious stones in an attempt to make their distinctive booty easier to sell, experts have warned.

Christopher Marinello, the founder of Art Recovery International, told the BBC that museums housing artifacts containing precious materials are "under siege by barbarian criminal gangs who melt down gold and carve out precious stones with no regard to the importance of cultural heritage".

Marinello said: "This is a major collection of jewels and intact designs containing gold, diamonds, precious gems and rubies. I knew exactly what was going to happen once I heard what was taken - that we were not going to see these items remain intact."