- The chest star of the Order of the White Eagle, made between 1746 and 1749 by the jeweler Jean Jacques Palard. Photo: AP
- Another White Eagle breast star stolen by thieves. Photo: AP
Photo: AP
Some of the stolen items are likely to be destroyed for gems.
A total of ten jewellery sets were displayed in four showcases of the hall where the robbery was committed. The intruders chose that showcase, where three ensembles were displayed. Dirk Syndram, Director of Green Vaults, noted that there is not a single collection of jewelry sets in the European museum collections that will be preserved in such quantity and quality.
The intruders used a burning car as a distraction – a fire broke out in an underground parking lot a few miles away from the museum. To get to the treasure, the thieves broke a glass protective window. At the same time, the museum security service was always in the building, and the police arrived at the scene within 10 minutes. As the museum workers note, the legendary Green Diamond was not damaged – it is currently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of New York. However, even having sawed such a stone, it seems impossible to sell it due to the rarity of diamonds of this shade.
Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong (1670 – 1733) built a treasure house between 1723 and 1730. The historical part is located on the ground floor of the Royal Palace in the authenticly restored rooms of the collection. The museum is named Green Vaults after the columns of one of the halls, painted in malachite green. Many of the most famous works in the museum’s exposition were created by court jeweler Johann Melchior Dinglinger and his sons.
Title illustration: large pectoral bow of the wife of Elector Friedrich August III – Amalie Auguste. Photo: Jurgen Karpinsky / AP Photo / dpa.
