The MAK Heist
August 27, 2026 was a pretty normal day, right? Well, except for the MAK-Jewelry Heist, yeah, totally.
On August 27, 2026 two armed men stole a historic, multi-million-dollar diamond necklace from the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (MAK) in the first district of Vienna. The necklace was part of the Van Cleef&Arpels High Jewelry x Masterpieces from the MAK Collection exhibit called “Glanzstücke“ (German for masterpieces/showpieces). One “Glanzstück“ got stolen, the other about 499 pieces survived.
Why?
The Exhibition
The MAK exhibit consisted of six themes with complimenting jewels, but also unique furniture pieces, dresses, textiles and posters.
In this exhibition, unique and rarely presented objects from all areas of the MAK collection enter into dialogue with jewelry art from the 120-year history of Van Cleef & Arpels. The Parisian Haute-Joaillerle-Maison and the MAK have brought together the enthusiasm for extraordinary craftsmanship, outstanding design, and visionary ideas.
1. Wanderlust
This part’s narrative ranges from the longing for Italy to the influences of Asian art.
In the 20th century, Van Cleef & Arpels continued the quest for faraway lands forged by the tradition of the Grand Tour and the Romanticism of the late 18th to the early 19th century. Like many other artistic disciplines, jewelry opened its repertoire to include shapes borrowed from books of ornaments. The Art Deco movement prolonged the Japonism, Medievalism, and Orientalism of the 19th century and Van Cleef & Arpels has used such inspirations in its designs since its foundation in 1906. The inclinations during that period were also shaped by recent events in cultural and archeological fields. In 1923 (soon after the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb in Luxor) Van Cleef & Arpels crafted several pieces with Egyptian motifs (one of them now stolen).
2. Architecture
The main theme, you could say, is the fascinating beauty of geometric lines and forms, structures and furniture. This whole part focuses on the dialogue of two different design worlds which at the beginning of the 20th century developed a very similar, new form language, independently of each other. At that time, Van Cleef & Arpels focused on clear and simple geometric lines, which became a key feature of Art déco. The Wiener Werkstätte (WW) also created a strictly geometric, architecturally influenced formal language, before Bauhaus and Art Déco existed. The WW wanted to give furniture a luxurious but simple character.
3. Rhythmic Design
Everything here revolves around movement, repetition and dynamic in fixed objects. The special thing here is that very hard materials were used and worked with so that now they look almost alive. Here you can see historic designs of the WW (textiles, papers) and look at the geometric symmetry of Van Cleef & Arpels (who, as you can see, know maths). All the precision of the shown objects are created with repeated lines, forms and stones, making the room look as if it would be put into an oscillation.
4.On Stage
Vienna is the city of music, so this collection has a deep connection with the city. The main themes are the fascination of music, opera, theater and dance. Key pieces are the ballerinas and fairies of Van Cleef & Arpels, which were made in the 1940s (during World War II) and stayed a known feature of the maison. Viennese cultural life also plays a main role, with artistic theater costumes, historic concert programs and noble opera glasses (which are like binoculars but for the opera, to see what is happening on stage). It really represents the then-high class of Vienna.
5.Metamorphosis
Now we are at the center of the labyrinth. This part is about transformations and optical illusions. Van Cleef & Arpels is known for its transformable creations, like the iconic Zip-Necklace which can be transformed into a bracelet. The historical exhibits of the MAK reflect this game with perception. The objects of the WW and glass art are shown, which look completely different through new and innovative techniques.
6.Nature and Cosmos
This part forms a poetic ending. The two worlds of flora and fauna, and the infinity of the universe are connected. Shown are Van Cleef & Arpels‘ brooches and jewels that look like butterflies, birds and flowers. All stones are put very close together so that you can‘t see the metal and it looks very natural. Also shown are drafts of the artist Gustav Klimt and historical astronomic devices and sundials.
The one who didn‘t survive
In 1939 Van Cleef & Arpels created the “Collerette“ by the request of the Egyptian royal family for Queen Nazli. She wore it one time, for the wedding of her daughter Princess Fawzia, who married Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (later Shah of Persians). The collier is made out of platin and occupied with 673 diamonds and is worth 204,03 carats. The design is very Art Déco. It‘s a V-neck necklace and has several rows of diamonds in brilliant and baguette cut and is perfectly symmetrical. In 2015, the collier was purchased at an auction from Sotheby‘s for around 4.3 million US dollars. Now its worth is in the double-digit million range. Before being stolen, it was located in the section “Wanderlust“ along the other Egyptian jewels.
Cheap Ocean‘s Eight
The heist wasn‘t a particularly clever or secret theft, it was more a brutal robbery. On August 27 at about 2 p.m. two unmasked men entered the museum and bought tickets like every other person. In the first section they directly headed for the Nazli Collier where one of the men took his hammer (which he brought into the museum) and broke the glass of the display case. It took 41 blows to get it to break. The other man took his firearm to threaten the museum‘s visitors, but he did not use it. They both took the jewelry and fled by foot through the Wiener Stadtpark, which is next to the museum. They have not been found yet, but they have pictures of their faces and everything.
After the robbery, the MAK changed their security standards. Big bags have to be stored in a locker and before entering the big hall you have to go through security where you will be scanned and everything.
XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market
