No cash for rares: thieves get in with art expert Albert Maier

Albert Maier is one of the veterans of the successful ZDF junk show "Bares for Rares".

No cash for rares: thieves get in with art expert Albert Maier

Albert Maier is one of the veterans of the successful ZDF junk show "Bares for Rares". When it comes to old furniture, paintings or sculptures, his expertise as an art dealer is in demand. However, he has now received a visit from burglars without being asked.

Sounds funny, but it's like this: With a very simple concept, the junk show "Bares for Rares" has been a ratings hit on ZDF for nine years now. In addition to moderator Horst Lichter, the recurring experts and dealers on the show have also blossomed into little "stars". One of them is the art expert Albert Maier, who lives in Baden-Württemberg.

The 73-year-old has been part of the game since the first season of "Bares for Rares" in 2013 and is therefore a veteran of the successful format. As an expert, he is mostly used when it comes to real antiques, such as furniture, paintings or other works of art that are more than a hundred years old.

When Maier is not on television, he still works as an art dealer himself. He also runs an antique shop in his hometown of Ellwangen. According to media reports, a few thieves have now gotten into this.

The "Bild" newspaper, for example, reports that the thieves got into Maier's shop at the beginning of August, where they dumped drawers and showcases. Jewelry and watches, including around ten to 15 gold pocket watches, worth around 100,000 euros fell into their hands. "There is also a lack of old, valuable medals," Maier complained to the newspaper about his suffering.

And that's not all: "The burglars apparently got into my apartment through a small corridor, searched everything there and stole my wife's beautiful gold jewelry," reveals the art dealer.

As Maier in turn revealed to the "Schwäbische Zeitung", he was not at home during the theft. But not because he was in action at "Bares for Rares". Rather, he and his wife would have been on vacation on Sylt at that time.