Press Release  December 3, 2019

10 Priceless Diamonds Stolen from the Green Vault

© Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, photo: Hans Christian Krass

Historic Green Vault, Jewel Room Display.

Law enforcement is offering a $1 million reward for information relating to the theft of more than a billion dollars in diamonds. Last week, ax-wielding thieves broke through a window of the Dresden Palace, a historic complex that houses four museums. They proceeded straight to the Green Vault, a gallery housing a priceless collection of Baroque diamond jewelry. The team of thieves, which are assumed to be professionals, had disabled the museum’s security system by starting an electrical fire that left the building and neighboring streets without lights. Covering their tracks using fire extinguishers, the thieves were in and out within five minutes and a burned-out escape vehicle was later found nearby. As more time passes since the theft, fears increase that the jewelry, which are important artifacts of Saxony history, will be dismantled and sold for parts. Here are ten of the glittering jewels now missing from the Green Vault.

Section of a Muff Hook, Geneva / Vienna, between 1746 and 1749.
© Green Vault, Dresden State Art Collections, Photo: Jürgen Karpinski
diamond Necklace belonging to Queen Amalie Auguste, Dresden 1824.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Photo: Jürgen Karpinski
Large rose diamond.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Photo: Jürgen Karpinski
Diamond hat pin, Dresden, 1782-1789.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Photo: Jürgen Karpinski
Diamond Epaulette, Dresden, 1782-1789.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; Photo: Karpinski
Jewel of the Polish White Eagle Order, Dresden, 1782-89.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Bow belonging to Queen Amalie Auguste, Dresden, 1782.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Diamond sword hilt, Dresden, 1782-1789.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Photo: Jürgen Karpinski
Breast Star of the Polish White Eagle Order, Geneva / Vienna, between 1746 and 1749.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; Photo: Karpinski
Sun hairpin, Dresden, 1782-1807.
© Grünes Gewölbe, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

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