In Dresden, Germany thieves broke into the jewel room, one of ten rooms in the Royal Palace known as the Green Vault. They escaped with three collections of jewelry from the royal house of Saxony of immeasurable historical and cultural value. 

A surveillance video released by the police showed two figures, one with a flashlight, approaching a display case enclosed in glass. One then bent down, takes out an axe and slams it into a panel of glass. The Dresden Police said “I don’t have to tell you how shocked we are by the brutality of this break-in,” 

The jewels that were within the Green Vault were one of the world’s most intact collection of Baroque jewels. The contents of the vault contained individual objects gathered by August the Strong, an 18th-century ruler of the German state of Saxony, along with Poland and Lithuania. Due to damage sustained during WWII it was rebuilt after German reunification and reopened in 2006. The thieves made off with the Saxon royal treasures including diamond encrusted brooches, buckles, and a sword . The stole the “Diamond Rose” and Queen’s Jewelery” sets making a total of 11 entire pieces, parts of two other pieces and several buttons. Due to their unique design they couldn’t be sold to an open market, which leads to the idea that the jewels may be broken down. The gems re-cut and the gold melted to render them sellable. 

The police have appealed to the public for tips but so far have found no trace of the thieves.