Thieves nab priceless jewels from German museum

Thieves broke into one of the world’s oldest museums on Monday, making off with three sets of ornate 18th-century jewelry. Museum officials said they couldn’t place a dollar value on the stolen items because they would be “impossible to sell.” But a German newspaper estimated their value at just over $1 billion.

How did the heist happen? The thieves broke into a glass case at the Green Vault at Dresden Castle in eastern Germany and stole three sets of Baroque jewelry, including dazzling brooches, buttons, and buckles. Unarmed security guards spotted the thieves on surveillance cameras and alerted authorities, who arrived within minutes. But the suspects had already fled in a getaway car. The museum, established in 1723, owns about 4,000 objects of gold, precious stones, and other artifacts.