Thieves buy tickets before plundering necklace from Vienna museum

Two men entered Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) on Thursday, purchasing admission tickets before breaking into a display case. Inside, they grabbed a 200-carat platinum and diamond necklace, complete with 673 precious stones, valued at several million dollars. According to police, the thieves did not wear masks and were clearly captured on surveillance cameras during their heist.

They smashed a glass display case with a hammer before fleeing the scene, heading in an unknown direction. The MAK museum, which confirmed the theft, declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing. The necklace had been on display as part of an exhibition dedicated to French designers Van Cleef and Arpels, featuring 500 pieces since June, with the exhibition set to conclude on September 27.

Despite the museum's announcement to close the wing temporarily, it reopened hours later. The stolen piece, originally designed for Egypt's former royal family, was famously worn by Queen Nazli during her daughter's marriage to Iran's future Shah in 1939. Van Cleef and Arpels described the necklace as a "triumph of white jewellery" on their website, but have not yet commented on the theft.

This incident follows a series of high-profile museum burglaries across Europe, including the Louvre museum in Paris, which was robbed in broad daylight by thieves who managed to escape with $102 million worth of jewelry within eight minutes. Other recent thefts have also occurred in Spain, Italy, and Sicily, targeting valuable artworks and historical collections.