Vienna Museum Heist: Historic Egyptian queen's 673-diamond necklace worth $4.3 million stolen

Austrian authorities are searching for two men who stole a historic 200-carat platinum necklace adorned with 673 diamonds from Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts. The priceless piece, once owned by an Egyptian queen, was on loan to the museum when thieves broke in during opening hours on Thursday. Surveillance images of the suspects, who entered by purchasing exhibition tickets, were released by police.

They reportedly shattered a glass display case with a hammer and fled with the jewels in an unknown direction. Police and tracking dogs are combing the city center for leads. The theft has been attributed to a possible "contract job" for a criminal gang, according to investigators. The necklace was part of a major jewellery exhibition featuring works from Van Cleef & Arpels and the MAK's own collection.

Police appealed to the public for information. The museum temporarily closed the exhibition, which was set to end on September 27, and cancelled a planned Friday tour. The necklace belonged to Queen Consort Nazli of Egypt, who wore it to her daughter's wedding in 1939. It was previously sold at Sotheby's in New York for $4.3 million in 2015.

This incident follows a series of high-profile museum robberies across Europe, as highlighted by a recent Europol report warning of increasing violence and sophisticated methods used by thieves.