Austria museum heist: Thieves snatch diamond necklace

The stolen necklace, studded with 673 precious stones, belonged to Egypt's Queen Nazli. It was being displayed as part of the museum's exhibition for designs by France's Van Cleef and Arpels.

The necklace, worth several million dollars, had 673 precious stones and was part of a Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition.

Police are hunting two suspects they believe bought a ticket for the exhibition to get at the jewellery.

Art theft experts say the heist at the Museum of Villena mimics increasingly violent and quick robberies elsewhere in Europe, possibly inspired by last year’s Louvre break-in.

Albert Otti/picture alliance via Getty Images Thieves have stolen a 200-carat platinum-and-diamond necklace worth several million dollars during a brazen heist at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts. The Van Cleef and Arpels necklace, designed for the former royal family of Egypt and worn by Queen Nazli in 1939 at her daug

The piece is made of platinum and 673 diamonds with a total weight of 200 carats

Royal necklace with 673 diamonds stolen from museum in Vienna  The Times

Police said the two men did not wear masks, paid to enter the museum and were clearly seen on surveillance cameras in Thursday's heist.

It is the latest in a series of high-profile heists to hit European museums.

The Treasure of Villena, a unique Bronze Age trove, was stolen from a Spanish museum on Thursday in a rapid, four-minute long heist.