Queen Nazli of Egypt’s historic
Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace
has been stolen from the MAK in Vienna
— just weeks before the museum’s “Glanzstücke” exhibition was scheduled to close.
Forty-one blows with a hammer.
That’s how many times thieves reportedly struck the armored-glass display case before breaking through and stealing one of the most important jewels in the exhibition — Queen Nazli of Egypt’s historic Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace.
The robbery took place Thursday afternoon, August 27, at the MAK — Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, where Glanzstücke. Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry + Masterpieces from the MAK Collection has been on view since June.
According to Austrian newspaper Der Standard, two men entered the museum at about 2 p.m., purchased admission tickets and made their way into the exhibition.
They apparently did not look like jewel thieves.
“They behaved like normal visitors,” Vienna police spokeswoman Anna Gutt told the Austrian press.
Then came the hammer.
According to Der Standard’s reconstruction of the robbery, it took 41 blows to penetrate the display case. The MAK has since confirmed that the exhibition’s jewelry was protected in security vitrines integrated into the walls and fitted with armored glass.
One of the men carried the hammer. The other was armed with what police believe was a real firearm.
The gun was not fired, but police say it was openly displayed as the thieves made their escape. Other museum visitors were present.
Within minutes of entering the museum, the two men were gone — taking the diamond necklace with them.
They fled on foot toward Vienna’s nearby Stadtpark, where police say their trail disappears.
GLANZSTÜCKE. Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry × Masterpieces from the MAK Collection
MAK Exhibition Hall (ground floor)
Chapter Architecture
© Van Cleef & Arpels
673 Diamonds — 217 Carats
This was no randomly selected piece of jewelry. The stolen necklace was created by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1939 for the Egyptian royal family. Made of platinum and set with 673 diamonds totaling approximately 217 carats, the necklace was commissioned along with a matching tiara for the wedding of Princess Fawzia of Egypt to Iran’s Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who would later become Shah of Iran.
Queen Nazli wore the necklace to her daughter’s wedding.
Sotheby’s
Decades later, the necklace appeared at auction. It sold for $4,282,000 at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels sale in New York on December 9, 2015.
– image from Sotheby’s Catalogue, Magnificent Jewels Auction, December 2015.
Provenance
Formerly from the Collection of Queen Nazli Fouad, former Queen Mother of Egypt.
Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, Important Jewelry, November 20, 1975, lot 158.
Literature
Van Cleef & Arpels: Treasures and Legends by Vincent Meylan, pages 92-113.
Van Cleef & Arpels by Sylvie Raulet, pages 26-28.
In the 2015 auction catalogue
Before the auction in 2015, Sotheby’s noted that the necklace was “in very good condition… The central, transitional-cut diamond is approximately H-I color, SI clarity. The balance of the round-, transitional-, old European-cut and baguette-cut diamonds are predominately G-I color with the occasional J color stone, and approximately VS-SI clarity.”
Transitional. As we defined “transitional cut” in our feature Heritage: September 28, Fall Fine Jewelry Signature Auction, “The term ‘Transitional Cut’ is usually reserved for those diamonds fashioned in between the Old European style and the modern round brilliant style. It is transitioning from one style to the other. Today’s labs use the term ‘Circular Brilliant’ which seems to be a little more descriptive of its shape.”
Sotheby’s goes on to note that, “the necklace’s construction is truly masterful. Its remarkable flexibility allows the necklace to conform to the neck and to distribute the weight of the diamonds making it surprisingly comfortable to wear.”
◈
LOT #506. Van Cleef & Arpels
Estimate: $3,600,000 – $4,600,000 USD
Lot Sold: $4,282,000 USD
Value in question
Early Austrian reports placed its value considerably lower. Heute subsequently reported a figure of approximately €3.7 million, citing Austria’s Ö1 Morgenjournal — roughly in line with the necklace’s 2015 auction price ($4,282,000 USD).
Police believe the thieves knew exactly what they were after. “They apparently knew which piece was particularly valuable,” Die Presse reported, citing Vienna police.
In Broad Daylight
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the theft is its simplicity. The men didn’t break into the museum in the middle of the night. They bought tickets. They entered during normal museum hours. One carried a hammer. One carried a gun. And they attacked the display case while visitors were in the museum.
A Canadian visitor later described seeing one of the men come running down the stairs with a weapon before joining the second man and racing out the door.
Then something curious happened.
They simply walked away
Once outside, according to the witness interviewed by ORF’s Wien heute, the men stopped running and calmly walked away. Police say the entire operation — from entering the museum to escaping — took only a few minutes. A national and international search is underway. Investigators are reviewing the MAK’s surveillance footage as well as cameras along nearby streets and at Vienna U-Bahn stations.
Platinum, gold, emeralds, rubies, diamonds
© Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
What Happened to the Security?
That’s an obvious question — especially given what was on display.
MAK General Director Lilli Hollein says the museum and Van Cleef & Arpels had developed a security plan specifically for Glanzstücke. According to the museum, the security measures met the highest standards normally required for jewelry presented in international exhibitions. The jewels were displayed in armored-glass security vitrines integrated into the walls, and on-site security was provided by an outside security company.
But there was also a gun.
Once security personnel realized that one of the thieves was armed, the museum says their priority became getting visitors safely out of the exhibition and avoiding a confrontation.
“Fortunately, no one was injured. That is the most important thing,” Hollein said in a statement following the robbery.
The museum also noted that even comprehensive security precautions cannot completely prevent a targeted armed attack during public opening hours.
The MAK’s video surveillance system reportedly captured the robbery extensively, and the museum is cooperating with police.
Platinum, yellow gold, Mystery Set rubies, diamonds
© Van Cleef & Arpels Collection
“Glanzstücke” Reopens
The robbery did not close the exhibition for long. Glanzstücke reopened the following day, Friday, August 28, after the museum said conditions for reopening had been reviewed in close consultation with police.
The exhibition brings together “unique, rarely displayed objects from the MAK collection” with jewelry spanning Van Cleef & Arpels’ 120-year history, according to the museum. Around 500 objects are on display — more than 300 from Van Cleef & Arpels and more than 200 from the MAK collection.
But visitors returning to the exhibition are now encountering something that wasn’t there when the two thieves walked in Thursday afternoon.
Airport-style security
Visitors must now pass through a full-body metal detector to enter the museum. Austrian reports say bags and backpacks are being checked at the cloakroom, security staffing has been increased and video surveillance expanded. Austria’s Culture Ministry, meanwhile, says security will be at the top of the agenda when the country’s federal museums meet September 16.
“The security standards of the federal museums are at an extremely high level,” the ministry said following the robbery.
But for the MAK, and Van Cleef & Arpels, those standards will inevitably be examined in light of what happened Thursday afternoon.
