AUSTRIA, VIENNA: A multimillion-dollar royal necklace belonging to Egypt's Queen Nazli covered with 673 diamonds was stolen on Friday, Aug. 28, from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), turning a movie-style jewel heist into a real-life crime as two unmasked men smashed a glass display case in broad daylight and escaped with the historic piece.
The theft involved a platinum necklace weighing more than 200 carats that was created by French luxury jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels for Egypt’s former royal family. The piece was worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 at the wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Iran’s then-Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became shah.
The brazen robbery unfolded while the museum was open to visitors. The two suspects reportedly entered the museum as ordinary guests, bought tickets and walked into an exhibition featuring hundreds of Van Cleef & Arpels creations. They then used a hammer to smash the necklace’s glass display case, grabbed the jewelry and fled on foot.
What makes the crime even more striking is that the suspects did not hide their faces. Police said they were captured by surveillance cameras and have released images as part of the investigation. Authorities described the men as slim, with dark hair and beards. They were reportedly wearing black clothing and dark sneakers with white soles.
Austrian police have launched a major search for the suspects, including the use of a police tracking dog. Investigators are examining whether the theft was a targeted operation and whether organized criminals were behind the raid.
The necklace’s financial value adds another layer to the dramatic theft. It was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2015 for about $4.3 million or around $5m, according to reports. The piece had been displayed as part of a major Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition at the Vienna museum.
The Vienna heist also comes amid a troubling series of high-profile museum thefts across Europe, increasing concern about the security of priceless jewelry, art and historical treasures.
