‘Priceless’ jewels stolen from German museum

Robbers made off with three priceless diamond sets from a state museum in Dresden, police and museum directors confirmed yesterday, in what German media have described as the biggest art heist since World War Two. The thieves broke into the Green Vault at Dresden’s Royal Palace -- home to around 4,000 precious objects made of ivory, gold, silver and jewels -- after a power cut deactivated the alarm at dawn. The stolen items included three “priceless” sets of diamonds, the director of Dresden’s state art collections Marion Ackermann told reporters. Ackermann confirmed the sets included brilliant-cut diamonds which belonged to an 18th-century collection of jewellery assembled by the museum’s founder. Bild daily said the heist was “probably the biggest art theft since World War Two”.