The thieves stole a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace from Vienna’s MAK museum on Monday, police confirmed, making off with a piece valued at millions that once belonged to Egypt’s Queen Nazli. The heist follows a high-profile theft at the Louvre last October.
Daylight robbery at the museum
The thieves entered the Museum of Applied Arts like ordinary visitors, purchasing tickets before smashing a display case with a hammer in broad daylight, around 11:00 AM local time. Surveillance footage captured two men without masks as they broke the glass and fled with the jewelry, officials said. No one was injured during the incident, which lasted less than two minutes from start to finish.
Vienna police are reviewing security camera recordings, with investigators poring over hours of footage to identify the suspects. A wide-ranging search has been launched, with authorities coordinating with international law enforcement agencies to track down the thieves. Austrian media report that investigators suspect organized criminal groups based in the Balkans may have orchestrated the theft, though authorities have not confirmed this publicly. Sources close to the investigation suggest that the group may have been planning the heist for months, casing the museum and studying its security measures.
A necklace with royal history
The stolen piece is a platinum Van Cleef & Arpels necklace auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York in 2015 for $4.3 million. It contains 673 diamonds, with the largest stone weighing approximately 35 carats. The diamonds in the necklace total more than 200 carats. The jewelry was commissioned for the Egyptian royal family and worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 at her daughter Princess Fawzia’s wedding to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became Iran’s last shah. The necklace was a part of the bride’s dowry and remained in the Iranian royal family until it was sold by the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 1950s.
The necklace was part of the Glanzstücke exhibition, which pairs Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry with objects from the MAK’s permanent collection. The show features roughly 500 pieces in total, showcasing the elegance and craftsmanship of both the French jeweler and the museum’s holdings. The exhibition, which opened in June, has attracted thousands of visitors, many of whom have praised the rare opportunity to see such exquisite pieces up close.
Visitors who purchased tickets for the exhibition, which was scheduled to run through September 27, should contact the museum for rescheduling information. The MAK has temporarily closed the affected galleries while police continue their investigation. Museum officials have assured the public that they are doing everything in their power to recover the stolen necklace and ensure the safety of the remaining artifacts.
Leave a Reply