673-Diamond Necklace of Egyptian Queen Stolen in Vienna Museum Heist
On August 27, two masked intruders entered the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna and stole a diamond necklace that belonged to Queen Nazli of Egypt by breaking a display case. This brazen act occurred during the day and was captured on security footage. Interpol has now added the necklace, which was made in 1938 and features 673 diamonds, to its stolen art database. The necklace was part of the exhibition 'Glanzstücke', which runs until September 27. Queen Nazli wore it for her daughter Princess Fawzia's wedding in 1939. After losing her royal title in 1950, she sold it for $140,000 at Sotheby's in 1975, and it fetched $4.3 million in 2015. Fawzia Farouk, Queen Nazli's great-granddaughter, shared her grief over the theft.
Key facts
- The theft occurred on 27 August at Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).
- Two unmasked suspects used a hammer to smash a display case and stole the necklace.
- The necklace was commissioned by Queen Nazli of Egypt in 1938.
- It features 673 diamonds and is made of pure platinum.
- The necklace was part of an exhibition with Van Cleef & Arpels, running until 27 September.
- In 1975, the necklace sold at Sotheby's for $140,000; in 2015, it sold for $4.3 million.
- Interpol has added the necklace to its stolen artworks database.
- Queen Nazli's great-granddaughter, Fawzia Farouk, expressed sorrow over the theft.
Entities
Artists
- Queen Nazli of Egypt
- Princess Fawzia
- King Farouk
- Princess Fathia
- Fawzia Farouk
- Van Cleef & Arpels
- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- Queen Nazli
- Capucine Juncker
- Yanis M.
- René Lalique
- Jacques Chirac
- Princess Fawzia of Egypt
- Fawzia of Egypt
- Benvenuto Cellini
- Antonello da Messina
Institutions
- Museum of Applied Arts (MAK)
- Van Cleef & Arpels
- Sotheby's
- Interpol
- Europol
- The Art Newspaper
- MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
- Archaeological Museum of Villena
- Der Standard
- MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
- Louvre
- Musée Lalique
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
- Union française des experts en objets d'art (UFE)
- MAK (Museum of Applied Arts)
- Lalique Museum
- Musée du Pays Châtillonnais
- Museum of Villena
- National Museum of Natural History (Paris)
- Connaissance des Arts
- Landeskriminalamt of Vienna
- Die Presse
- Museum für angewandte Kunst (MAK)
- Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Deutsche Presse-Agentur
- ORF
- APA
- Vienna State Criminal Police Office
- Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina (MuMe)
- Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane
- Museum of Applied Arts
- AFP
- Yahoo! News
Locations
- Vienna
- Austria
- Beverly Hills
- United States
- Egypt
- Iran
- Villena
- Spain
- Stadtpark
- Paris
- France
- Wingen-sur-Moder
- Alsace
- Châtillon-sur-Seine
- Côte-d'Or
- Sarran
- Corrèze
- Cairo
- Annemasse
- Switzerland
- New York
- Messina
- Italy
- Parma
- USA
- Balkans
- Sicily