A historic diamond necklace once owned by Egypt’s Queen Nazli has been stolen from a museum in Vienna after two men smashed a glass display case during opening hours.
The 673-diamond necklace, containing more than 200 carats of diamonds, was on display at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) as part of an exhibition featuring jewellery by French luxury house Van Cleef & Arpels.
The necklace was last sold at Sotheby’s in New York for nearly $4.3 million in 2015.
Austrian police are now searching for two men suspected of carrying out the brazen museum theft.
Two men smashed the display case and fled
According to Vienna police, the theft happened at about 2 p.m. on August 27 at the museum in central Vienna.
The suspects entered the museum as visitors before allegedly smashing a glass display case with a hammer and taking the valuable necklace.
Police said the men then fled on foot toward the Stadtpark, prompting an extensive search operation involving police units and tracking dogs. Investigators are also examining CCTV footage and other forensic evidence collected at the scene.
Police have released images of the two suspects and are asking the public for information that could help identify them or locate the stolen necklace.
Authorities describe the suspects as men with dark hair and dark beards, wearing dark clothing and dark shoes with white soles.
One suspect may have carried a firearm
The theft has attracted additional attention because Austrian authorities said one of the suspects was believed to have been carrying a possibly genuine firearm during the robbery.
No one was injured in the incident.
The Vienna State Criminal Police Office is leading the investigation, while officers continue to examine security-camera recordings and interview witnesses.
Why the stolen necklace is so valuable
The necklace is not simply a high-value piece of jewellery.
It has a connection to Egypt’s former royal family.
The 1939 Van Cleef & Arpels necklace was commissioned by Queen Nazli of Egypt for the wedding of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Iran’s Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The piece contains 673 diamonds with a combined weight of more than 200 carats. Its design includes a central diamond of approximately six carats surrounded by hundreds of smaller and baguette-cut stones.
The necklace was eventually sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2015 for about $4.3 million.
That combination of historical importance, royal provenance and extraordinary diamond content has made the stolen piece particularly significant.
Police launch international hunt
Vienna police have appealed for information about both the suspects and the missing necklace.
The official police notice says the investigation is being conducted by the Vienna State Criminal Police Office and that photographs of the suspected offenders have been released following authorization from prosecutors.
Investigators are also examining whether the theft was specifically planned around the necklace and the exhibition’s security arrangements.
At this stage, however, authorities have not publicly established who organized the robbery or where the necklace may have been taken.
The museum exhibition was temporarily affected
The stolen necklace was part of the GLANZSTÜCKE exhibition at MAK, which brought together hundreds of jewellery pieces connected with Van Cleef & Arpels.
Following the theft, the affected exhibition area was temporarily closed while investigators worked at the scene.
The incident has also raised fresh questions about security at European museums, which have experienced a series of high-profile jewellery and cultural-property thefts in recent years.
The Vienna robbery is particularly striking because the suspects allegedly carried out the theft in broad daylight while the museum was open to visitors.
A growing concern for European museums
The Vienna theft comes amid a wider series of high-profile museum robberies across Europe.
Recent incidents involving valuable jewellery, ancient artefacts and historic artworks have intensified scrutiny of museum security, particularly for objects that can command millions of dollars on the international market.
For investigators in Vienna, the immediate priority is now finding the two suspects and recovering the necklace before it can disappear into the international black market.
The stolen piece’s distinctive design, enormous diamond content and royal history could make it difficult to sell openly—but authorities have yet to say where the necklace may have gone.
The investigation remains ongoing.
