New Delhi: An Egyptian diamond necklace has been stolen from its display at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna. An international manhunt is underway for two men who allegedly smashed their way into a glass display case and fled with the necklace, valued at around $4 million.
The suspects reportedly entered the museum as ordinary visitors at around 2 pm on 27 August. They bought tickets to the exhibition “Glanzstücke: Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewellery x Masterpieces from the MAK Collection” and made their way to the display case holding a platinum necklace adorned with 673 diamonds, totaling more than 200 carats.
One of the two men was armed, while the other used a hammer to smash the security glass. The glass case reportedly took 41 hits before breaking. The thieves then grabbed the necklace, leaving the other jewellery pieces inside the case untouched.
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The pair then fled on foot towards the nearby Stadtpark. No one was injured, and museum staff did not attempt to intervene.
Police launch international manhunt
Vienna police (LPD Wien) released clear CCTV images showing the unmasked suspects in an appeal for information from the public. Investigators have examined forensic evidence, surveillance footage and witness statements, while police dog units were deployed across Vienna.
The stolen necklace has also been entered into Interpol’s database of stolen works of art, as authorities widen the search beyond Austria.
Some Austrian media have suggested that the theft may have been a targeted “contract job” carried out for a criminal group, although police have not publicly confirmed the theory.
Also Read: ‘All museums are at risk’. How Louvre heist sparked a reckoning on art security
A necklace with royal history
The necklace was commissioned in 1938–39 for Queen Nazli of Egypt and was worn by her at the 1939 wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Iran’s then-Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became the Shah of Iran.
The piece was sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2015 for approximately $4.3 million.
It formed part of a major Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition that opened in June and was scheduled to run until late September. Following the theft, the exhibition was temporarily disrupted, and the damaged display area was later covered with a blue panel.
‘A targeted, armed attack’
“The theft of a high-value piece of jewelry by Van Cleef & Arpels has hit us hard,” the museum’s general and artistic director, Lilli Hollein, said.
“Even with comprehensive security measures in place, a targeted, armed attack during ongoing exhibition operations cannot be completely ruled out,” Hollein added.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)