Diamond necklace worth millions stolen from Vienna museum

A valuable diamond necklace has been stolen from a museum in Vienna, DPA reported citing Austrian police.

Police released an image of the piece, which was made by Paris luxury jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels.

Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) gave no details about the stolen item, but information on its website indicates that it may be a royal necklace containing 673 diamonds weighing more than 200 carats.

The museum confirmed only that a theft had taken place during its jewellery exhibition and said no one had been injured. It said no information would be provided on the ongoing investigation.

The MAK has been showing more than 300 pieces from the Van Cleef & Arpels collection since early June, according to DPA.

A photo of the exhibition on the museum's website shows the necklace behind a glass display. The accompanying description says it once belonged to queen Nazli of Egypt, who wore it in 1939 at the wedding of her daughter Fawzia to Iran's then crown prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who later became shah.

The necklace sold for around $4.3 million at auction in New York in 2015, according to auction house Sotheby's.

Police said two unidentified men smashed a display case during opening hours, took the piece and fled.