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Entrance to the historic Green Vault in the Residenzschloss in Dresden
Photo: Andreas Weihs / IMAGO
According to an expert, some of the pieces of jewelry returned after the jewels were stolen from the Dresden Green Vault are severely damaged.
The restorer Eve Begov from the Dresden State Art Collections reported on Tuesday during her witness hearing at the Dresden Regional Court of broken pieces, deformations and damage caused by moisture, as the dpa news agency announced.
For example, the tip of the "Breast Star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle" was severed.
The restorer diagnosed rust deposits and moisture ingress between the frame and the stones on the »Hatagraffe«.
They could either be from storage or an attempt at cleaning.
Condensation caused the stones to look black.
It is still unclear how the moisture will affect the long-term.
One of the world's most important diamonds is still missing
The expert was also asked by the court about a possible restoration of the damaged pieces.
She did not want to comment on this in detail.
It is about the question of how far you want to push a restoration.
That has to be decided in the team.
Deformations will be reversed so that the pieces can be presented again.
The restorer also commented on the pieces that are still missing.
This includes the epaulette with the "Saxon White", a diamond of almost 50 carats.
The brilliant is counted among the world's most important diamonds, said Begov.
In the process of the jewel theft in 2019, meanwhile, there are signs of an agreement between the defense, the public prosecutor's office and the youth chamber.
After 31 items of loot were handed over to the investigators of the "Epaulette" special commission shortly before Christmas, as agreed during exploratory talks at the beginning of December, penalty discounts are in prospect, as the presiding judge Andreas Ziegel said on Tuesday at the Dresden district court.
However, the prerequisite is that the accused declare themselves to be planning, preparing and participating in the crimes.
This had also been promised for several of the accused.
However, the bundle of stolen jewelry spread out on December 17, 2022 in the West Berlin office of one of the defenders was less extensive than discussed, said Ziegel.
In addition, parts were damaged.
The prospective range of penalties has been corrected upwards accordingly.
The perpetrators set fire to an electrical box
In the process, which has been going on for almost a year, six men between the ages of 23 and 29 from a well-known large Berlin family of Arabic origin are accused of serious gang theft, arson and particularly serious arson.
Two of them are currently serving a youth sentence of several years for stealing the gold coin from the Bode Museum in Berlin in 2017.
During the spectacular art theft on November 25, 2019 in Dresden, two perpetrators entered the Residenzschloss through a previously prepared window, punched holes in a display case with an ax and tore out whatever they could get their hands on.
Beforehand, they set fire to an electricity box not far from the museum – and their getaway car in the underground car park of a residential building in order to cover their tracks.
swe/dpa/afp