Queen Nazli's historic diamond necklace stolen from Vienna museum
A historic diamond necklace once owned by Egypt's Queen Nazli has been stolen in a daylight smash-and-grab at Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).
Police said two men entered the museum as ordinary visitors at around 14:00 local time on August 27, bought tickets and walked into the exhibition. They then smashed a glass display case with a hammer, seized the necklace and fled on foot towards nearby Stadtpark.
Vienna State Police spokesperson Philipp Haslinger said a national and international manhunt was under way. Surveillance footage showed one of the suspects carrying what appeared to be a real firearm, although it was not used during the robbery.
Investigators have recovered evidence from the museum and are examining DNA and other leads. Police have also appealed to the public for information, with Haslinger saying numerous tips had already been received.
The platinum necklace was created by French jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels in 1939 and features more than 200 carats of diamonds in a sunburst design. Queen Nazli, mother of Egypt's King Farouk, wore it at the 1939 wedding of her daughter Princess Fawzia to Iranian Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became Shah of Iran.
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The necklace sold at Sotheby's in New York for about $4.3 million in 2015 before later joining the Van Cleef & Arpels collection. It was on display in Vienna as part of the MAK's "GLANZSTUCKE" exhibition dedicated to the French jewellery house.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
