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Nearly five years after millions of dollars worth of jewellery was stolen from a museum in Germany, a significant portion of the collection is once again on display. | Source: Saxony Tourism/Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Germany’s missing jewellery: Collection back on display

Posted August 20, 2024 | By Samuel Ord

Nearly five years after millions of dollars worth of jewellery was stolen from a museum in Germany, a significant portion of the collection is once again on display.

In 2019, criminals stole jewellery and gemstones from the Gruenes Gewoelbe (Green Vault) museum in Dresden. In the years since the heist, arrests have been made, and many stolen pieces have been recovered.

Marion Ackermann, director general of Dresden State Museums, said the pieces are in the same condition in which they were recovered.

“There are certain things that perhaps absolute experts can see; we, with the naked eye, can actually barely see the damage,” said

“And this damage is mainly due to the fact that they were either broken out during the crime or improperly stored by the perpetrators after the crime.”

The Dresden collection was assembled in the 18th century by Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and later King of Poland. He commissioned the collection as part of a rivalry with King Louis XIV in France.