Vienna police are searching for two suspects believed to have stolen a 600-diamond necklace from the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in broad daylight. The theft occurred during an exhibition for which the museum had developed a security plan in conjunction with Van Cleef & Arpels.
MAK general director Lilli Hollein stated that the museum took security issues "very seriously" and that "all security measures were carefully prepared." She added that museum staff followed established procedures calmly during the "armed incident" and that no one was injured.
The stolen piece is described as a highly valuable necklace. The museum had reportedly reviewed its security measures ahead of the exhibition, "particularly in light of the incidents at major museums in recent years."
Police believe the suspects bought tickets to the exhibition to gain access to the jewelry. Security camera stills show two men walking through an atrium, both wearing dark tops.
This incident follows a pattern of high-profile art and jewelry thefts in Europe. Earlier on the same day as the Vienna theft, a significant collection of prehistoric jewelry and artifacts was stolen from a museum in Spain. In recent months, four Renaissance paintings were stolen from a museum in Sicily, and three valuable paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse were taken from a museum in Parma. Last October, a masked group stole priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris in a similar daylight raid.