Thieves smash display case in Vienna and steal historic Egyptian royal necklace
Police in Vienna are hunting two men who stole a platinum necklace set with 673 diamonds from the Museum of Applied Arts during opening hours
Police in Vienna are hunting two men who stole a platinum necklace set with 673 diamonds from the Museum of Applied Arts during opening hours on Thursday afternoon. The piece, once commissioned for Egyptian Queen Nazli, vanished in a brazen smash-and-grab raid that unfolded in front of visitors.
Ticketed entry, then a hammer
Investigators said the two suspects entered the museum as regular visitors after buying tickets, then broke open a glass display case with a hammer and fled with the necklace. Austrian police released security-camera images of the men and asked the public for help identifying them.
“The perpetrators fled with the jewellery in an unknown direction,” police said in their appeal.
Officers searched the city centre and brought in a tracking dog as the manhunt widened. Local media, including the Kronen newspaper, said investigators believed the theft may have been a contract job carried out for a criminal gang. Police have not confirmed that theory publicly.
A royal jewel with a long trail
The stolen necklace is no ordinary museum item. The Van Cleef & Arpels Art Deco piece was made in 1939 for Queen Consort Nazli of Egypt, who wore it to her daughter Princess Fawzia’s wedding to Iranian Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, later Iran’s last shah. The necklace carries more than 200 carats and 673 diamonds.
It was later sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2015 for about $4.3 million, after being estimated at roughly $3.6 million to $4.6 million. Some reports placed its last appraisal at $4.6 million. The figure underscores the scale of the loss, even before any historical value is counted.
Security questions at a busy museum
The theft happened at the Museum of Applied Arts, known as MAK, during an exhibition that had been on display since June and was scheduled to run until September 27. Austrian media said the display also held matching items from the same collection, though the necklace was the only object reported stolen.
The raid adds to a run of thefts and smash-and-grab attacks that have rattled European cultural institutions. Museums and galleries across the continent have been stepping up security checks, but daylight strikes like this still expose a familiar weakness: a determined pair, a brittle case, and only seconds to act.
For now, the necklace remains missing. Police say the search for the two men continues.
