Stolen Heirloom: Queen Nazli’s Diamond Necklace Taken in Vienna Museum Heist

​Austrian authorities have launched an international manhunt after two unmasked thieves stole a priceless 200-carat diamond necklace once belonging to Egypt’s Queen Nazli from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

​The daylight robbery took place during regular opening hours when the two suspects purchased standard tickets and entered the museum. Proceeding directly to the exhibition hall, the men used a hammer to shatter a reinforced glass display case before snatching the platinum-set jewel and fleeing on foot. Police and tracking dogs scoured central Vienna following the heist, and Interpol has since added the artifact to its Stolen Works of Art database. Investigators suspect the operation may have been a targeted contract job commissioned by an organized criminal syndicate.

​The stolen artifact is a masterpiece created by French luxury jewellery house Van Cleef & Arpels. It features 673 diamonds totaling approximately 200 carats and carries deep historical significance. The piece was originally commissioned in 1939 for Queen Consort Nazli of Egypt, who famously wore it during the wedding celebrations of her daughter, Princess Fawzia, to Iran’s then Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Last sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2015 for $4.3 million, the multi-million dollar heirloom was on loan as part of the MAK’s major summer exhibition celebrating 120 years of the jewellery house.

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​Museum officials confirmed that no visitors or staff were physically injured during the incident, though several patrons were inside the gallery when the glass was smashed. While the wider exhibition remains temporarily disrupted, the brazen theft has intensified growing security concerns across Europe. Law enforcement agencies continent-wide are grappling with a surge in aggressive, high-profile cultural property heists, ranging from prehistoric gold raids in Spain to the theft of Renaissance masterpieces in Italy.