Vienna Museum Heist: 200-Carat Egyptian Queen’s Diamond Necklace Stolen

A 200‑carat platinum necklace, once worn by Queen Nazli of Egypt and now on loan to Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, was stolen during the museum’s opening hours on Thursday. Security footage shows two men breaking a glass case with a hammer, taking the 673‑diamond piece and fleeing the building. Austrian police have released the suspects’ images and are actively searching for them, deploying a tracking dog and canvassing the city centre.

The necklace, listed as a historic 200‑carat item, was part of a jewellery exhibition that opened in June and ran until September 27. The display featured more than 300 pieces from the French house Van Clever & Arpels, including rare items from its 120‑year history. According to the museum’s documentation, the necklace was sold at Sotheby’s in New York in 2015 for $4.3 million. It once belonged to Queen Consort Nazli, who wore it at her daughter Fawzia’s 1939 wedding to Iran’s crown prince, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became shah.

The museum confirmed that no one was injured and that several witnesses saw the robbery unfold. A guided tour scheduled for Friday afternoon was cancelled, and the exhibition was temporarily closed. Police say the perpetrators “fled with the jewellery in an unknown direction.” Investigators suspect the robbery was a contract job carried out on behalf of a criminal gang, according to a statement from the Kronen newspaper.

The incident follows a spate of high‑profile “smash‑and‑grab” thefts across Europe. Earlier this year, thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris, taking crown jewels worth €88 million in a matter of minutes. In Spain, a robbery at the Treasure of Villena saw bronze‑age gold artefacts taken. Italian police recovered paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse that had been stolen from a private museum near Parma, and four works by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Messina during a national holiday.

A Europol report released this month found that museum robberies are becoming increasingly violent, with thieves using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives. Some have brandished guns and assaulted staff to gain access to valuable collections. The Vienna heist adds to a growing list of incidents that have raised concerns about security protocols at cultural institutions across the continent.

Police have issued a public appeal for information that could help locate the suspects. They are urging anyone who may have seen or heard anything during the theft to come forward. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have indicated that they will continue to search for the stolen necklace and the men responsible for the robbery.