Over 100 artists and craftsmen meticulously restored the museum, formerly the treasure chamber in Dresden’s Residenzschloss royal residence, in an effort that cost 45 million Eur ($54 million).

"A dream has come true for three generations of Dresdeners," Georg Milbradt, governor of the state of Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital, said Tuesday.

The exhibition rooms are now ready to house a world-famous collection that includes around 3,000 medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque works of jewelry and gem art. Since 2004, 800,000 visitors have viewed a selection of about 1,100 of these pieces in a temporary exhibition space called the "New Green Vault." They were previously housed in the city’s Albertinum Museum for 30 years.

No costs were spared in the use of materials such as gold leaf, Saxon oak, and marble to recreate a section of the residence that for centuries added to Dresden’s fame as "Florence on the Elbe."

The historic "Green Vault" refers to eight rooms, three of which were completely destroyed in WWII, on the ground floor of the west wing of Saxony’s former royal residence where priceless jewels, decorative pieces, and official state documents were housed. The largest of these rooms has a distinctive light green tint, while the two other chambers are red and blue in color.

The design of the chambers as well as the contents were organized and displayed according to the exacting aesthetic of Prince August I - who began the collections in 1560.

But it was Saxon Elector August the Strong whose tastes defined the collection. He opened the vault for viewing in 1730, thus making it the very first museum that is also a Gesamtkunstwerk, or work of art in itself.

Among the vault’s treasures is the one-of-a-kind Dresden Green Diamond, the only diamond of considerable size of light green hue and of significant size. The 41-carat gem, remarkable for its unique color and for its impeccable quality, is set in an elaborate gold and silver agraffe and surrounded by white diamonds.

Over 20,000 tickets to the "walkable treasure" have been sold in anticipation of the vault’s re-opening to the public on September 15.