600‑Diamond Necklace Stolen from Vienna Museum Sparks International Manhunt

Sun Sep 06 2026 02:15:27 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A $4m platinum‑and‑diamond necklace was ripped from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, triggering a high‑profile search and raising alarm over museum security.

A packed exhibit at the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts was shattered when thieves smashed a glass case and stole a 600‑diamond necklace worth over $4m. The hoax, carried out in broad daylight, involved two suspects, one allegedly armed, who fled north toward the city park. Police released CCTV footage and are urging locals to report any information as Europol warns of increasingly violent cultural‑heritage thefts across Europe. The museum’s director said security plans had been vetted in advance, but the incident highlights gaps in safeguards at major cultural institutions.

Two men broke into the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna on Thursday afternoon, smashed a glass case and stole a platinum necklace studded with 600 diamonds, a piece valued at more than $4m.

The necklace, originally commissioned for the former Egyptian royal family and worn by Queen Nazli in 1939, was part of a Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition that had been running until September.

Security footage shows the suspects pushing aside the display and grabbing the necklace before fleeing towards the Vienna Stadtpark. Police say one suspect was also believed to have carried a real firearm.

In a statement, MAK’s general director Lilli Hollein condemned the theft, noting that the museum had implemented a comprehensive security plan with Van Cleef & Arpels and that staff reacted calmly, following established procedures.

The incident comes amid a string of high‑profile thefts across Europe, including a bronze‑age heist at a Spanish museum, Renaissance paintings stolen in Sicily, and the Louvre’s 2025 jewel robbery.

Vienna police released the suspects’ faces from CCTV and are appealing to the public for any information that could lead to their capture. Dog units are patrolling around Lower Austria, while forensic teams analyze CCTV and other evidence.

The exhibition reopened after the theft, but the incident has prompted a re‑evaluation of security protocols at major European cultural institutions and a warning from Europol about a new wave of violent theft networks.