Two individuals entered the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna as ordinary visitors on a Thursday afternoon. During their visit, they smashed a glass display case and took a diamond necklace before fleeing the scene. The police have launched an investigation into the "brazen art theft."
The stolen necklace, previously owned by Queen Nazli of Egypt, was designed by the Parisian luxury jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels. It features 673 diamonds totaling over 200 carats and was worn by the Queen in 1939 for her daughter Fawzia's wedding to the Iranian Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The piece was auctioned in 2015 for nearly $4.3 million (equivalent to approximately 3.7 million Euros at the time) by Sotheby's.
The MAK confirmed the theft from its "Glanzstücke" exhibition but provided no further details due to ongoing investigations. No injuries were reported. Police released surveillance images of the two suspects, described as slender men, 170-175 cm tall, with dark hair and beards, wearing dark clothing and dark sneakers with white soles. Extensive search efforts, including the use of a tracking dog, were underway throughout central Vienna, and the cultural property unit of the Federal Criminal Police Office was also involved. The museum stated that, with the exception of the affected exhibition area, it remains open to the public.
