Two unmasked individuals are being sought by authorities after stealing a 200-carat platinum necklace valued at over £3 million from Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). The daring theft occurred when the suspects smashed a glass display case containing the historic Van Cleef and Arpels necklace with a hammer.
CCTV footage captured the two men, who were not wearing masks, during the incident. After the smash-and-grab, they were seen fleeing towards Vienna Stadtpark, located south of the museum. Police believe the suspects had purchased tickets to enter the museum prior to the heist.
The stolen necklace, featuring 673 diamonds, was part of an exhibition dedicated to the renowned French jewelry designer. The exhibition, which opened in June and was scheduled to continue until September, showcases approximately 500 pieces.
This particular necklace holds historical significance, originally created for the former Egyptian royal family. It was notably worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 for the wedding of her daughter, Fawzia, to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who would later become the Shah of Iran.
Van Cleef & Arpels described the stolen piece on its website as a "triumph of white jewelry." The company has not yet issued a statement regarding the theft.
Police have released photographs of the suspects, with one of them potentially carrying a firearm. Lilli Hollein, the general director of the MAK, stated that the theft of such a valuable item has deeply affected the museum. She emphasized that a security plan had been developed with Van Cleef & Arpels for the exhibition and that all security measures were carefully prepared.
This incident follows a recent pattern of high-profile thefts targeting European museums. Earlier in the week, thieves stole a collection of Bronze Age gold artifacts from a museum in Villena, Spain. Additionally, four valuable works by Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina were taken from a museum in Sicily.
In a separate development, Italian police recovered paintings by Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse that had been stolen from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation museum. Last October, a heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris resulted in the theft of jewelry worth £75 million.