A historic Van Cleef & Arpels necklace containing 673 diamonds has been stolen from the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Two men entered the museum as visitors on 27 August 2026, broke its display case with a hammer and escaped with the jewel during public opening hours.
The platinum necklace, containing more than 200 carats of diamonds, once belonged to Queen Nazli of Egypt. Its importance extends well beyond the value of its materials: it is a remarkable surviving example of late-1930s jewellery design, a product of exceptional French craftsmanship and a witness to a marriage that connected the former royal houses of Egypt and Iran.
What happened at the Vienna museum?
According to Austrian police, the two suspects purchased admission tickets and entered the exhibition without concealing their faces. They subsequently shattered the glass cabinet protecting the necklace and fled on foot towards Vienna’s Stadtpark.
Several visitors were present, but no injuries were reported. Police began an extensive search involving specialist officers, tracking dogs and examination of the museum’s security-camera recordings.
The necklace had been loaned to Glanzstücke: Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry × Masterpieces from the MAK Collection, an exhibition bringing together more than 300 creations from the Parisian jewellery house with approximately 200 objects from the museum’s own collection.
The exhibition opened on 10 June and is scheduled to continue until 27 September. The affected galleries were initially closed following the theft. As of 31 August, Austrian authorities had not reported the necklace’s recovery and the international search remained active.
Who was Queen Nazli?
Nazli Sabri became Queen Consort of Egypt through her marriage to King Fuad I in 1919. She was the mother of King Farouk, Egypt’s last reigning king, and Princess Fawzia.
Princess Fawzia married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, then Crown Prince of Iran, in 1939. He later became the final Shah of Iran. The marriage was an important diplomatic and social event, joining two prominent Middle Eastern royal families.
Van Cleef & Arpels was commissioned to create ceremonial jewellery for the occasion. The project included a bridal tiara, necklace and earrings for Princess Fawzia, while Queen Nazli wore the spectacular diamond collerette now missing from Vienna.
Contemporary photographs show the necklace covering much of the Queen’s upper chest, its flexible diamond ribbons spreading outwards from the neck in a formal yet remarkably fluid design.
What does the necklace look like?
The necklace was created in platinum and designed as a graduated collar supporting a flexible sunburst-shaped bib.
Three rows of claw-set round diamonds form its upper structure. Beneath them, articulated baguette diamonds introduce strong lines and movement. At the centre, curved ribbons of round and baguette-cut diamonds pass through a radiating loop, from which a round diamond of approximately six carats is suspended.
The diamonds are not all cut in the same manner. Brilliant, transitional, old European and baguette cuts were combined to create changes in texture, reflection and rhythm. Round stones produce flashes of brilliance, while the baguettes provide clear geometric lines.
Sotheby’s described 118 of the larger round diamonds as weighing approximately 134 carats. Smaller round diamonds contributed around another 27 carats, while the baguette diamonds weighed approximately 50 carats in total.
Why platinum was essential to the design
Platinum played an important part in the development of white diamond jewellery during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its strength allowed jewellers to create comparatively fine settings capable of supporting complex arrangements of diamonds.
The pale metal also recedes visually beside white diamonds. Instead of dominating the jewel, it allows the arrangement of stones and the spaces between them to define the design.
In Queen Nazli’s necklace, platinum made possible an intricate articulated structure that could move and conform to the wearer’s neck. Sotheby’s observed that its flexibility distributed the considerable weight of the diamonds, making the necklace surprisingly comfortable despite its scale.
This combination of strength, flexibility and discretion explains why platinum became so important to the great diamond jewels of the Art Deco era.
Is the necklace Art Deco?
The necklace dates from 1939, placing it at the end of the period most closely associated with Art Deco. Its geometric baguette diamonds, monochrome palette and emphasis on structure clearly reflect that influence.
It is not, however, a rigidly angular design. Draped diamond ribbons, curved motifs and the articulated central stone soften its geometry. The resulting jewel combines architectural discipline with the appearance of fabric in motion.
Van Cleef & Arpels identifies the necklace as an important example of the popularity of “white jewellery” during the late 1930s. In this context, the term describes monochrome diamond jewellery mounted in a white precious metal rather than the colour of any individual diamond.
The contrast between round and baguette cuts gives the necklace much of its visual character without relying upon coloured gemstones.
Why provenance changes a jewel’s value
Sotheby’s offered the necklace in New York on 9 December 2015 with an estimate of $3.6 million to $4.6 million. It sold for approximately $4.3 million.
That price reflected more than the weight and quality of its diamonds. The Van Cleef & Arpels name, documented royal ownership, distinctive design, age, craftsmanship and survival in a recognisable original form all contributed to its importance.
Provenance is the documented history of an object’s creation and ownership. In significant jewellery, a strong provenance can establish authenticity, connect a piece with historic people and events, and distinguish it from another jewel containing comparable materials.
Queen Nazli’s necklace was accompanied at auction by a Van Cleef & Arpels certificate of authenticity. Its history could also be traced to an earlier New York auction in November 1975.
The loss is greater than the diamonds
A historic jewel cannot be valued simply by adding together its diamonds and platinum. Its importance comes from the relationship between its materials, design, maker and history.
If separated from the necklace, the individual diamonds would lose much of that context. Even if every stone survived, dismantling the piece would destroy an exceptional example of jewellery engineering and sever the physical connection with Queen Nazli and the 1939 royal wedding.
This is why thefts of historic jewellery are also losses to design history and cultural heritage. Museums allow pieces that would otherwise remain in private collections to be studied and appreciated by a much wider audience.
The necklace’s fame and extensive documentation may make it extremely difficult to sell intact through legitimate channels. Its distinctive design, archive records, maker’s marks and widely circulated photographs provide an unusually clear identity.
A growing concern for European museums
The Vienna theft follows several serious robberies involving European cultural collections. These include the theft of historic jewels from the Louvre in October 2025 and, on the same day as the Vienna incident, the removal of Bronze Age gold objects from the Treasure of Villena in Spain.
Jewellery presents a particular security challenge. It can be physically compact while possessing considerable material and cultural value. Unlike a famous painting, a jewel may also contain detachable diamonds or gemstones that become more difficult to identify once removed from their original setting.
Museums must balance protection with public access. Visitors need to see sufficient detail to understand craftsmanship, while display cases, alarms, surveillance and staffing must protect objects against increasingly forceful attacks.
The theft does not diminish the value of exhibitions devoted to jewellery history, but it demonstrates the level of planning and security now required to present irreplaceable pieces safely.
A masterpiece that deserves to survive intact
Queen Nazli’s necklace is memorable not merely because it contains 673 diamonds. Its importance lies in how those stones were selected, arranged and articulated to produce a jewel of extraordinary scale that still appeared balanced and wearable.
It records a moment in royal and political history, illustrates the capabilities of one of the world’s great jewellery houses and captures the final flowering of white diamond jewellery before the Second World War changed European society and luxury production.
Its disappearance is therefore more than a high-value robbery. It places a unique work of jewellery design at risk. The hope must be that international attention and the necklace’s unmistakable identity lead to its recovery before its historic integrity is permanently lost.