Showing posts with label Jewelry. Show all posts
The holiday season is upon us, which means it's time to plan your party outfits and also shop gifts for everyone on your list. Wondering how you could take your look to a whole new level or confused about what to gift your loved ones? We have a sparkling solution we think you'll love – fine jewelry
We asked Angara.com, the #1 online jeweler in our Best Online Shops 2020 survey, what the top jewelry picks for the holiday season are. Here's what the experts suggested...
1. Blue Sapphire Ring with Diamond Halo
Inspired by Princess Diana's much-loved engagement ring, this design features an oval blue sapphire, prong set within a glimmering floral halo of diamonds. This one's sure to get heads turning.
2. Ruby Teardrop Pendant with Diamond
Simple, elegant and perfect for the holidays, this V-bale pendant combines the eye-catching allure of ruby with the unending sparkle of diamond. Both gems are secured in prong settings.
3. Diamond Solitaire Pendant
A radiant round diamond is placed in a bezel setting to create a pendant that is both minimalistic and stylish. The bezel setting provides utmost security to the stone. Layer it or wear alone – your choice.
4. Sapphire & Diamond Shell Pendant
Prong set within a conch-like frame, the oval sapphire delights with its glorious blue hue. Diamond accents further elevate the overall charm of this uniquely designed shell pendant.
5. Ruby & Diamond Three Stone Ring
Representing the past, present and future, this three stone ring is great for a holiday proposal or as a gift for a special someone. The vibrant ruby and the diamonds are prong set on the lustrous shank.
6. Oval Ruby Solitaire Promise Ring
Secured in a prong setting and placed on a luminous shank, the oval ruby looks exceptionally enchanting. This classic promise ring captivates with its simple yet elegant design. Can't stop staring, right?
7. Basket-Set Round Blue Sapphire Studs
The beauty of these stud earrings lies in their simple design. The round sapphires, secured in basket prong settings, exude a pleasing blue hue that is hard to miss.
8. Vintage Inspired Ruby Clover Stud Earrings
Drawing inspiration from vintage patterns, this pair of stud earrings is a true beauty. The eye-catching round rubies are prong set within a diamond embellished floral frame. These pretty studs will work for the party season and way beyond.
9. Round Ruby Stud Earrings
The prong-set round rubies exhibit a striking red hue that is sure to draw every eye. These studs are just what you need to brighten up your look for a Christmas party.
10. Basket-Set Diamond Stud Earrings
This pair of stud earrings is a visual treat by all means. The round diamonds, held in a four-prong basket setting, sparkle like stars in the night sky. You can never go wrong with this pair – gift it or keep it for yourself.
Loved these pieces? Well, there's a special surprise in store for you. Head to Angara.com, add the jewelry you like to cart and use coupon code "NEWSWEEK" at checkout for an exclusive holiday deal.
Happy Shopping!
10 Best Holiday Jewelry Picks - Newsweek
BERLIN — The Royal Palace museum in Dresden, Germany, reopened to the public on Wednesday, except for the rooms known as the Green Vault, where the police continued to hunt for evidence to help them track down the thieves who broke in two days earlier, making off with 11 rare Baroque jewels.
The police said evidence indicated that four thieves had carried out the robbery early Monday, spraying a fire extinguisher in their wake to erase their tracks. The thieves broke an iron gate and a window to enter a room in the Green Vault on the ground floor of the museum.
Among the treasures in the Green Vault — founded by August the Strong, prince-elector of Saxony and King of Poland — were several sets of royal jewels. The thieves used an ax to break the security glass and steal three of them — the “Diamond Rose,” “Diamond” and “Queens’ Jewelry” sets — taking a total of 11 entire pieces, parts of two other pieces and several buttons, Dirk Syndram, the director of the Green Vault, said on Wednesday.
“These three sets included diamonds in various cuts that date largely from the time of August the Strong and August III,” Mr. Syndram said in a statement. “They were set between 1782 and 1789.”
Among the items stolen were a sword with a diamond-encrusted handle, several shoe buckles and buttons made of diamonds, as well as brooches, a hair clip shaped like the sun and parts of a diamond necklace belonging to Queen Amalie Auguste from 1824.
The police have appealed to the public for tips but have so far found no trace of the thieves.
One piece from the “Diamond” set, a hat clip with a flawless 41-carat gem known as the Dresden Green Diamond, is currently on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for an exhibition. Even when in Dresden, the diamond is displayed separately from the rest of the set on another floor of the museum.
The theft has raised concerns about security at museums around Germany.
Marion Ackermann, the director of the Dresden State Art Collection, a consortium of museums that holds the treasures of the former royal house of Saxony, has repeatedly defended the collection’s security.
But Germany’s culture minister and the German Museum Association said they would discuss how better to protect the treasures in the country’s museums, while still keeping them accessible to the public.
Eckart Köhne, the association’s president, said in a statement, “The break-in at the Green Vault gives us a reason to re-examine whether the threat level has changed in recent years.”
“For this, the museums need assistance from their sponsors, as well as police and security specialists,” he added.
A surveillance video released by the police shows two figures, one carrying a flashlight, approaching a display case enclosed in glass. One then bends down, pulls an ax from a bag and repeatedly slams it into a panel of glass, which fragments and gives way.
“The case looks like a battlefield,” Mr. Syndram said.
The stolen jewels were not insured, and Ms. Ackermann and her team would not give a figure for their value, insisting that their worth lies in their historical and cultural significance as part of an intact set of royal jewels.
Because they are unique, they could not be sold on the open market, she said.
That has led to fears that the pieces will be broken down, the gems re-cut and the gold melted to render them sellable.
“Of course, if the pieces remained intact, the entire world is looking for them and they are not going to find much of a market,” said Chris Marinello, an expert with Art Recovery International, which specializes in finding and recovering stolen art.
“Every hour that goes by increases the likelihood that these are going to be broken up and destroyed,” he said, adding that he hoped the authorities would promise a reward for the return of the intact pieces.
Art historians and museum directors across the globe have joined in the outrage at the loss from a collection that was hidden to survive the Allied bombing of Dresden at the end of World War II. The treasures were later taken by the Soviet Union, but were returned to the former East Germany in the 1950s.
“They bear with them that history,” said Shira Brisman, an assistant professor in art history at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in art produced in German-speaking regions from the period.
The objects in the Green Vault collection are signs of power, Ms. Brisman said, artworks that could show off Saxony’s mining wealth, including tin, silver, copper and precious stone, and the skills of its artisans.
“On the one hand, they reflect wealth,” she said. “On the other hand, they reflect alliances.”
After its return to East Germany, the collection languished in relative obscurity behind the Iron Curtain for decades, despite their status as the biggest surviving princely art collection in Europe.
The Green Vault was partly destroyed during World War II but was rebuilt after German reunification and opened in 2006.
Alan Yuhas contributed reporting from New York.
Dresden Museum Partly Reopens After Jewelry Heist - The New York Times
REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Nov. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- There is no right or wrong way to feel when you hear bad news regarding health. As time passes, an individual and their family can experience a range of emotions. What IS normal is the wave and unpredictability of these feelings. Fear, anger, denial, shock, helplessness, sadness, frustration, relief, and acceptance are all part of the journey.
Those who are experiencing terminal illness themselves (or their loved ones around them) may also feel alone. Even if you are surrounded by your closest family and friends, you might experience isolation. Whatever you are feeling, in no matter what situation, the important feeling to manifest is belonging and remembrance-- you are not alone.
The idea of being thought of and remembered in a time of incertitude brings a level of solace to both individual and loved ones: it is a mutual benefit. A poignant way to deliver a message of hope, faith, and memorialization is personalized jewelry.
One of the only gifts one can receive that is timeless is jewelry. Jewelry can be cared for, and enjoyed for generations. Jewelry styles are classic, never become irrelevant. Those who pass away can always be remembered due to jewelry's ability to be passed down to the next generation and become a meaningful heirloom.
Jewelry is a powerful material memory of an experience. When faced with a terminal illness, you realize that the people you love are going to miss you. They will want to hold something, to wear something, and look at something that will alleviate this sense of loss. Gifting jewelry has the power of recall and relief: it can evoke a sense of soothing reminiscence.
One advantage of gifting jewelry is its ability to appreciate over time and become an investment. Jewelry can be enjoyed now, in the present moment AND in the future. Buying jewelry for your loved ones is a way to assure financial security for them once you are gone. When you decide to buy jewelry, you leave the potential for your family to make money on the investment in the future.
Personalized jewelry generates vivid imagery and stimulates generational chronicles. With the gift of jewelry, those who remain on this earth can see you, even if you have left them: it preserves our memories.
Alba Lusso Jewelry tells stories and encourages storytelling. Through Alba Lusso's Above Memory Personalized Jewelry Collection you have the power to carry on the narratives of those who have passed. Personalized jewelry pieces and heirlooms become the golden thread that ties us to eternity.
Jewelry pieces allow us to stay attached to our loved ones, our homes, our culture, and our ancestry. Wearing Alba Lusso's Above Memory Personalized Jewelry collection or Beyond Signs collection can foster healing, provide solace, and restore our hope.
As the holidays approach, our minds and hearts are centered around the gift-giving tradition. Our lives are centered around our loved ones, gratitude, and holiday rituals. One of the most precious gestures you can do this holiday season is gift remembrance. A jewelry memento will always be a reminder of love, a special keepsake that will last forever.
Alba Lusso's Hope Dove Necklace from Beyond Signs collection becomes a daily reminder to expand these qualities and prosper on with life. A Tiny-Treasure Double-Name Necklace from the Above Memory collection can foster a sense of generational belonging. Imagine your great-granddaughter looking down and seeing your name, initials, or birthstone: Alba Lusso's jewelry is an eternal reminder. By bestowing jewelry for your loved ones at a time of mourning, you assist your loved one's restoration...there isn't a better gift to get or receive.
CONTACT: info@albalusso.com, 800-700-3714
SOURCE Alba Lusso Jewelry
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Alba Lusso Jewelry Releases Above & Beyond Collection for Those Facing Terminal Illness - PRNewswire
This summer, the Brazilian-born, New York-based designer Ana Khouri exhibited her high jewelry at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Meanwhile, the American fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen, who runs the Row with her sister Ashley, was in town as well, and she and Khouri ended up having a rendezvous at the Ritz. The meeting was originally so Olsen could shop for herself, but by the end of the week, they’d decided that the Row stores would start carrying some of Khouri’s latest pieces — and would later partner on a small collection of entirely new ones.
Like many intriguing collaborations, Ana Khouri with the Row, which consists of two black- and white-gold ear cuffs, one slightly larger than the other, and one black- and white-gold ring, all entirely pavéd in emeralds — the ring alone is set with 560 stones — is an unexpected pairing. The Row sells more vintage jewelry than contemporary pieces, and is known for an elegant but austere aesthetic. Yet for all of their decadence, Khouri’s works have a certain restraint. The designer, who trained as a sculptor and still keeps an art studio in Brooklyn, is primarily concerned with form. “She’s a true artist, and it shows in her work,” Ashley Olsen wrote in an email.
Khouri, 38, grew up near her family’s farm outside of Londrina, a city west of São Paulo. “I was always outside or using my hands and making things,” she says. These days, she concentrates on her sculptural pieces, many of which hug the ear or the finger; she spent nearly a year working with artisans and a 3-D imaging machine to perfect the clasps used for the ear pieces. “The other challenge was adding volume while removing what was unneeded and keeping things light,” says Khouri. Unlike some minimalists, though, she finds meaning beyond the fact of the physical object. She’s partial to emeralds because both her grandmother and her mother wore them, and because the stone is thought to promote healing. And she feels that the ear pieces’ shape — a rounded-edged link — speaks to a greater interconnectedness. Or, as Khouri says, “the idea that we’re all part of the same thing, something bigger than ourselves.”
A Jewelry Designer Lends Her Sculptural, Gem-Encrusted Vision to the Row - The New York Times
Tales of criminal masterminds swindling away diamonds, rubies and emeralds in elaborate robberies have captured Hollywood's imagination for decades. But this week, a raid on a castle vault in Germany has reminded us that real-life jewelry heists are an unfortunate reality.
In the early hours of Monday morning, around 100 priceless treasures were removed from Dresden's Green Vault, one of Europe's largest collections of masterpieces. The thieves are believed to have accessed the museum by cutting through a grille and breaking a window.
Within minutes, two suspects were seen moving through the gallery with flashlights, before smashing a display case and fleeing with priceless jewels containing diamonds, pearls and rubies.
It may not have been history's most sophisticated operation, but the Green Vault robbers join a long list of thieves making off with millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. Here are some of recent history's most notorious heists.
Swedish royal jewels stolen
Collection of Swedish Crown jewels that were stolen from a cathedral, in a daring daytime heist. The thieves smashed glass show cases and snatched 17th-century royal treasures. Credit: Swedish Police via AP
Items once belonging to Swedish monarch Karl IX and his wife Kristina, including a golden orb adorned with a crucifix and two crowns, were taken from a cathedral west of Stockholm. The items date back to the early 17th century.
At the time, police said they could not comment on the value of the items stolen. But dean of the Strängnäs parish, Christofer Lundgren, told CNN affiliate Expressen that their monetary value pales in comparison to their significance in Sweden's cultural history.
The thieves fled in an open-topped motorboat from the base of the church. Police patrol boats and helicopters joined the hunt.
Hatton Garden safe deposit
Thieves broke into Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd in London, using a drill to get through the thick wall. Credit: Metropolitan Police Service
The perpetrators gained access through an elevator shaft. They then used a drill to bore through a six-foot-thick wall and enter the basement vault, investigators said at the time.
At the time, media outlets had speculated the value of the haul could be in the vicinity of £200 million (then $303 million), though during the trial, prosecutors placed the value of the stolen property at £14 million.
Carlton Hotel
A view of the Carlton hotel, in Cannes, southern France, the scene of a daylight raid. Credit: Lionel Cironneau/AP
The robber, whose face was covered by a hat and a scarf, threatened to shoot exhibitors and guests with a semiautomatic pistol, the prosecutor's office deputy prosecutor for organized crime said at the time.
A few months earlier, during the Cannes Film Festival, a necklace worth $2.6 million was stolen from a hotel party, shortly after jewels worth more than $1 million had been taken from a safe in a hotel room.
The Heist at Harry's
Armed thieves, some dressed as women and wearing wigs, entered the Parisian Harry Winston jewelry shop and stole gems and jeweled watches. Credit: Francois Mori/AP
They took items from display cases and safes, walking out with an estimated €80 million (then about $105 million) in jewels.
According to the prosecutor's office, the robbers seemed to know secret hiding places for jewels and some employees' first names.
Antwerp diamond heist
Antwerp's judicial director, Eric Sack said thieves copied the masterkeys. Credit: Yves Logghe/AP
The thieves, led by Leonardo Notarbartolo, reportedly managed to penetrate some of the most advanced security measures, including hi-tech combination locks, motion and heat sensors and 18-inch steel doors.
They even switched the tapes in the building's security cameras to avoid being identified. Their one mistake: an incriminating half-eaten sandwich with DNA samples on it.
After a months-long police operation involving detectives in several countries, the gangsters were eventually arrested, though most of the jewels were never recovered.
Graff Jewelry Store
A platinum diamond pendant was among the pieces of jewellery stolen from Graff's store in London's Bond Street. Credit: Metropolitan Police/Getty Images
In 2009, two men in suits and ties walked into Graff jewelry store on London's New Bond Street in the middle of the day and stole jewelry worth an estimated £40 million (then about $65 million).
The men threatened employees with handguns before grabbing 43 items -- including earrings, necklaces and watches -- and escaping in a blue BMW.
At the time, it was Britain's largest ever jewelry heist. The two thieves, as well as two other men, were caught and charged for the audacious robbery.
Brussels Airport
Marc Bertoldi was accused of masterminding the multi-million dollar diamond theft at Brussels Airport. Credit: Mathieu Cugnot/AP
After breaching a fence and racing onto the tarmac, the thieves threatened workers at gunpoint.
Within three minutes, the men had taken the diamonds from the plane's hold, an airport spokesperson said at the time.
Authorities said it was a "big surprise" that such a slick heist had been possible -- suggesting that it had been the work of professionals, not a chance hold-up. Antwerp, the city known as the world's diamond-cutting capital, lies only about 25 miles away from Brussels.
ABN Amro Bank
A branch of the Dutch bank ABN Amro in the northern Belgian city of Antwerp is seen closed after diamonds were stolen. Credit: Michel Wiegandt/AFP/Getty Images
One unorthodox approach to robbery: chocolates and charm. In March 2007, a man using the name Carlos Hector Flomenbaum became a frequent customer at ABN Amro bank in Antwerp.
Venice's Doge's Palace
Jewels on display at the "Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajahs" exibithion, at Venice's Doge's Palace, in Venice, Italy, Credit: Andrea Merola/AP
The pieces -- owned by the former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani -- were taken in broad daylight on the last day of the exhibition. One suspect acted as a lookout, police believe, while another grabbed the jewels from a display case.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the pair were able to delay the alarm system by one minute, meaning it wasn't triggered until they had made their escape.
The most notorious modern-day jewelry heists - CNN
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Jewelry, Vol. 1 - Willamette Week
If You’re In The Market For Something Shiny, Shop These Black Friday Jewelry Sales First - Refinery29
Art experts warn that a hoard of royal jewelry taken during a daring heist at one of Germany's most famous museums could disappear forever with the pieces being broken up and their gemstones removed for sale.
Dozens of items stolen from an 18th century collection at Dresden's Grünes Gewölbe museum, or Green Vault, are so identifiable that it would be very difficult for the thieves to sell them on the open market, said Julian Radcliffe, chairman of the world’s largest private database of lost and stolen art, The Art Loss Register.
"If they broke them down, they would be able to sell individual diamonds for a price," he said.
But even the loose stones may prove a challenge for the thieves to pawn off.
"Because these are 18th century cut, they are not common for current use," Radcliff said. "There is a danger they might try to re-cut them."
The collection was founded in the German state of Saxony by August the Strong, a Saxon ruler who later served as the king of Poland, and contains items that hold invaluable cultural value, museum officials said.
“The fact that these are precious cultural objects to Saxons and the world means nothing to these criminals,” said Christopher Marinello with Art Recovery International, a lawyer and expert in recovering stolen, looted and missing works of art. "They are cold-hearted cultural barbarians who will steal from their own mother."
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Police did not provide a full list or detailed description of all the stolen jewelry, but pictures show several brooches, a sword and a necklace among the stolen items.
Some German media have reported that the value of the jewelry could top hundreds of millions of euros, while museum officials say the items are "priceless."
The director of the Dresden State Art Collections, Marion Ackermann, said it’s impossible to describe the material value of the stolen artifacts because their historical significance is much greater.
“We cannot put a value on it because it’s unsellable,” Ackermann said. “There is no financial value we work with.”
So the value put on the stolen jewels by the press is purely theoretical, Radcliffe said. In fact, putting a price on them can be misleading, he added.
"This type of jewelry collection never comes onto the market, and therefore nobody knows what it would achieve if sold," Radcliffe said.
“Whatever the value is, if these items are broken down or sold individually, they would be worth pennies compared to their true value and the important thing is to get them back intact,” he said.
Details of the stolen items could be entered into a database of stolen artifacts in the hopes they can raise the alarm of suspicious buyers, Radcliffe said, but if the criminals find it too difficult to monetize them, there is a chance they could simply abandon them.
“The Swedish crown jewels, which were stolen several years ago, were recovered when they were left in a bin, so sometimes the thieves find that these are too hot to hold.”
Meanwhile, Marinello said it’s paramount for law enforcement to act fast if there is to be any hope of recovering the artifacts in their original form.
“There is no time to lose,” he said.
The police also need to make it known that they want these pieces returned intact and if they are broken up, the penalties will be more severe, Marinello added.
German investigators, who are still analyzing the crime scene, told NBC News on Tuesday the suspects are still on the run. They didn't detail their next steps, but did say that a burned-out car found two and a half miles away from the museum was tied to the break-in.
“If they are going to issue a reward for information, it should come now before the gold is melted down and stones and diamonds are removed. This needs to be treated like a hostage situation,” Marinello said.
Germany jewelry heist: Art experts fear stolen treasures will be destroyed - NBC News
Brazen thieves who stole priceless 18th-century diamonds from a museum in Germany used an ax to break down a glass case, surveillance video shows.
German police released the video as they searched for the professional crooks who broke into Dresden's Green Vault – one of the world’s oldest museums – around 5 a.m. Monday and took 100 pieces from three diamond ensembles. Germany media value the loss at $1.4 billion.
“In total, the entire crime only took a few minutes,” police said in a statement. Photos of the priceless jewels were also released.
DRESDEN MUSEUM HEIST THIEVES STEAL $1.1 BILLION IN ‘PRICELESS’ JEWELS
This undated photo provided by the State Art Collection in Dresden on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, shows a big breast bow from the jewelry that was stolen from the Green Vault early Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 morning in Dresden. (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/Juergen Karpinski via AP)
In the video, two crooks can be seen using a flashlight before one of them is spotted swinging an ax multiple times at the displace case.
Unarmed museum guards called police after spotting the burglars inside the downtown museum.
The first officers arrived on the scene within minutes but the thieves had already fled in a waiting car.
Police confirmed that the thieves’ getaway car, an Audi A6, was found in an underground garage where it has been torched.
This undated photo provided by the State Art Collection in Dresden on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, shows jewels that were stolen from the Green Vault early Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 morning in Dresden, Germany. (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/Juergen Karpinski via AP)
4 MEN TIED TO LEBANESE MAFIA IN GERMANY ON TRIAL OVER HEIST OF $4M GOLD COIN
The treasury of Augustus the Strong of Saxony was established in 1723 and today contains around 4,000 objects of gold, precious stones and other materials on display.
One of its most famous and precious treasures, the Dresden Green Diamond, is currently on loan with other valuable pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for an exhibit.
The 41-carat green diamond was acquired by Augustus III, the son of Augustus the Strong, in 1742, according to the museum.
This undated photo provided by the State Art Collection in Dresden on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, shows jewels that were stolen from the Green Vault early Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 morning in Dresden, Germany. (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/Juergen Karpinski via AP)
Experts believe that the stolen jewels may never be seen again as they would be impossible to sell on the open market. They are so recognizable, the thieves are likely to break them up.
Destroying the gems would be a terrible idea, Dresden state museums head Marion Ackermann told the BBC.
"We are talking here about items of inestimable art-historical and cultural-historical value," she said. "We cannot put an exact value on them because they are priceless."
Green Vault director Dirk Syndram stressed that the collections in the museum have “invaluable cultural value” — particularly their completeness.
“Nowhere in any other collection in Europe have jewels or sets of jewels been preserved in this form and quantity,” he said. “The value is really in the ensemble.”
This undated photo provided by the State Art Collection in Dresden on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, shows the Jewellery Room of the Green Vault with the display cases, left, showing the part of the collection that was affected by the robbery early Monday, Nov. 25, 2019 morning in Dresden. (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/David Brandt via AP)
Investigators suspect that a fire at an electrical junction box near the museum, which took out the streetlights at the time of the robbery, was linked to the crime, police said. The outage affected lights in front of a window through which the thieves gained entrance, somehow getting through bars and safety glass to reach the Jewel Room.
The founder of Art Recovery International, Christopher Marinello, told the BBC that museums like the Green Vault were "under siege by barbarian criminal gangs who melt down gold and carve out precious stones with no regard to the importance of cultural heritage."
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The firm describes itself as "a behind the scenes force" in the art world.
"I knew exactly what was going to happen once I heard what was taken - that we were not going to see these items remain intact,” Marinello told the BBC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Germany jewelry heist surveillance video shows thieves break case with ax before swiping ‘priceless’ gems - Fox News
German authorities released surveillance video Monday that showed thieves using an ax to break into one of Europe’s most important collections of royal treasures and steal dozens of pieces of jewelry.
The video shows two people walking into Dresden’s Grünes Gewölbe museum, or the Green Vault, after smashing a window overnight to gain entry.
Using a flashlight, the pair appears to immediately target a display case. One of the thieves can then be seen repeatedly swinging an ax at it.
Authorities have said the thieves stole roughly 100 pieces of royal jewelry from the collection founded in the 18th century in the German state of Saxony by August the Strong, a Saxon ruler who later served as the king of Poland.
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In an interview with the public broadcaster ZDF, State Art Collections Director Marion Ackermann said the burglars weren’t able to steal all of the pieces from the three sets of jewelry that they appear to have targeted.
The jewelry was sewn into the surface of the cabinet, she said, and some of those pieces remained at the museum Monday.
The burglary took just a few minutes, and witnesses described the thieves' getaway car as an Audi A6 — the same car that was found burnt out in an underground garage nearby, police in Dresden said Monday.
Authorities said the car was still being investigated, as was a fire at a power substation that shut down street lighting in the area.
German media have reported that the value of the stolen jewelry could top hundreds of millions of euros, though Ackerman has said their value was “priceless.”
Saxony’s interior minister, Roland Woeller, told reporters that the cultural loss was “inestimable.”
“The whole of Saxony was stolen from,” Woeller said. “This is an attack on the cultural identity of all Saxons and the state of Saxony.”
Among the museum's pieces are an 18th century golden coffee set and a table-size sculpture of an Indian royal court from the 18th century, made out of gold, silver, enamel, precious stones and pearls, The Associated Press reported.
One of the museum's most famous pieces, the 41-carat “Green Diamond,” was on loan to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art at the time of the heist.
In a statement, Met Director Max Hollein said the museum was “devastated to hear of this theft. The Met, and I am sure the entire museum community, is hoping for the immediate and safe return of these most important pieces.“
Associated Press contributed.
Surveillance video shows thieves using ax during Dresden jewelry heist - NBCNews.com
December babies are anything but boring, so it's appropriate that the three birthstones for December are equally outstanding. From turquoise, which has been coveted by societies across the world since ancient times (King Tut's burial mask was famously adorned in turquoise stones,) to zircon, the Earth's oldest and one of its most geologically interesting minerals, to tanzanite, which got its name (for Tanzania, where the stones were originally discovered) from Tiffany & Co. when the famed jeweler became the first large-scale distributor of the stone in 1968, all of December's birthstones have a sense of history that pairs effortlessly with their cool-toned beauty.
If you're looking for a special gift for a December birthday that will stand the tests of time, look no further than this pretty birthstone jewelry.
