Van Cleef necklace stolen from Vienna museum

Two men stole a 200-carat platinum and diamond Van Cleef and Arpels necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts after buying tickets to enter, Austrian police said Friday.

Police said the men were not wearing masks and were clearly visible on surveillance cameras. They smashed a glass display case with a hammer, took the jewellery and fled in an unknown direction.

Austrian media said the necklace, set with 673 precious stones, was worth several million dollars. The MAK museum confirmed the theft and said it would not comment while the investigation was under way.

The necklace was part of an exhibition devoted to Van Cleef and Arpels. About 500 pieces had been on display since June, and the exhibition had been due to end on September 27. It was closed after the theft.

The stolen piece was designed for the former Egyptian royal family and was worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 for the marriage of her daughter Faiza to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the future Shah of Iran. Van Cleef and Arpels described the necklace on its website as a “triumph of white jewellery”. The company did not immediately comment.