Al Thani Collection is a range of jewelry dating back to the Mughal period upto present times (AFP)
In a heist similar to a Hollywood blockbuster, thieves stole precious Indian jewels worth one million euros ($1.2 million) from a collection belonging to the Mughal era, from a palace in Venice, Italy on Wednesday, reported news agency Agence France-Presse. The jewelry collection, from which the thieves stole, is praised by Forbes magazine for being the most unique collection of jewelry in the world. The thieves mingled with the many visitors to the palace and managed to escape with the jewels, which were on display at the last day of an exhibition being conducted there.
The heist was successfully carried out despite security measures, including metal detectors and an alarm which went off at the time around which the theft took place.
After the alarm went off at around 0900 GMT, Venice police immediately cordoned off the area, even though the thieves had managed to escape the exhibition taking place in Venice's Doge's Palace, also known as the Palazzo Ducale, one of Venice's top tourist destinations.
The Doge's Palace, also known as the Palazzo Ducale is one of Venice's top tourist destinations (AFP)
The thieves managed to steal a brooch and a pair of earrings from a collection of around 270 pieces of precious jewels, inspite of the stolen jewels not being the main highlights of the exhibition. Although according to the Venice police, the jewels were made of diamonds, platinum and gold, which puts the value of the jewels worth millions of euros.
The collection of jewels, known as the Al Thani Collection, is a range of jewelry dating back to the Mughal period to jewels from more contemporary times. The collection, assembled by Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, had been lauded by Forbes magazine, which has said that "there is no comparable collection on the planet."
A spokesman for the collection said it was in touch with Italian authorities and the foundation which runs Doge's Palace.
A statement from the foundation, Venice's Foundation of Civic Museums, said the stolen brooch and earrings are of "less historical value".
"The jewels, which were contemporary pieces, are consequently of less historical value than the other items in the collection," the statement, which was posted on The Al Thani Collection's Facebook page, said.
Inspite of this, the Venice police pointed out that since the items are so unique, they would be impossible to sell anywhere in the market.
(With Inputs from Agence France-Presse)