@slowwalker,
I think that Buddha's statue had 2 gems and they were stolen. Like you said it's a perfect craft work and when you talk about the Stupa, I had another thought. Coz in my country stupa are in different shape! But in here this is unbelievable! The balance of that metal structure is so perfect! After 1,000 years of time, it still exist as it is and could balance the entire structure perfectly!
The craft man of that Stupa should master that knowledge to do this work! It's great to see something that i really don't know! Moreover, this is the first time I have seen this type of Stupa in metal! My country (Sri Lanka) we couldn't find this form of Stupa!
Great photography and description! Specially it's a great to see articles related to Buddhism and it's histories! Thank you!

Cheers~