The great Piccadilly Fabergé gem heist: Thieves breach Christie's 'Fort Knox' security for haul worth 'hundreds of thousands of pounds'

  • The stolen jewellery and antiques could be worth as much as £1 million 
  • Police are yet to make any arrests or recover any goods from the heist
  • The thieves were captured on CCTV but they have not been identified 

Jewellery and antiques believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stolen from the world’s top auction house in a shock breach of security, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Valuable works of art, including rare pieces by the famed house of Fabergé, were taken from Christie’s headquarters in Central London.

Police are investigating the theft of the ‘high-value items’, but two weeks after their probe began they have not arrested any suspects or recovered any of the goods.

 

'Fort Knox': Jewellery and antiques believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stolen from Christie's London headquarters in a shock breach of security,

'Fort Knox': Jewellery and antiques believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stolen from Christie's London headquarters in a shock breach of security,

Pricey: In 2007, Christie's sold an exquisite jewelled clock egg made by Fabergé for the Rothschild family for a record £8.9 million; the auction house boasts of its ‘long and successful history of being entrusted with the most important works by Fabergé’, the famed court jewellers of Imperial Russia

Pricey: In 2007, Christie's sold an exquisite jewelled clock egg made by Fabergé for the Rothschild family for a record £8.9 million; the auction house boasts of its ‘long and successful history of being entrusted with the most important works by Fabergé’, the famed court jewellers of Imperial Russia

Sources say the value of the stolen items could be as high as £1million. One dealer said last night: ‘I’m absolutely shocked that it happened because the place is like Fort Knox.’

Christie’s, founded in London in 1766, boasts of its ‘long and successful history of being entrusted with the most important works by Fabergé’, the famed court jewellers of Imperial Russia. In 2007, it sold an exquisite jewelled clock egg made by Fabergé for the Rothschild family for a record £8.9 million.

Christie’s is performing well, posting record first-half sales of £2.7 billion earlier this year after successful sales of paintings by Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol.

Last month a twice-yearly auction of Russian art made £20 million and saw many valuable items by Fabergé going under the hammer, including a crystal vase with jewelled flowers that went for £314,500.

Intruders somehow got into the building in King Street near Piccadilly on the night of Sunday, December 7, according to sources.

Exclusive: Actress Kate Hudson wore Fabergé earrings at a film premiere in Venice in August 2012

Exclusive: Actress Kate Hudson wore Fabergé earrings at a film premiere in Venice in August 2012

It is believed the thieves opened at least one safe and escaped and, although they were captured on CCTV, they have not been identified.

Christie’s alerted the Metropolitan Police after the burglary was discovered the following morning. Scotland Yard’s elite art and antiques unit informed the British Antique Dealers’ Association, which told its members so they could be on the lookout and avoid unwittingly buying stolen goods. But there has been no public appeal for witnesses or information and Christie’s has not publicised the loss.

One Mayfair jeweller expert said the burglary was ‘very unusual’ and would be embarrassing for the sale house, while another suggested someone must have ‘properly cased the building’ before identifying a weak point in the security system.

Stolen in 2012: Turner Prize winning sculptor Douglas Gordon's solid-gold hands that were stolen from a Christie's storage facility in London; the artwork was estimated to be worth £500,000

Stolen in 2012: Turner Prize winning sculptor Douglas Gordon's solid-gold hands that were stolen from a Christie's storage facility in London; the artwork was estimated to be worth £500,000

It comes two years after a solid-gold sculpture by Turner Prize winner Douglas Gordon, worth an estimated £500,000, was stolen from a Christie’s storage facility in London. Reports at the time claimed the artwork was found to be missing only when an employee picked up the crate it was kept in and discovered it was ‘a bit light’.

The artist said it was ‘outrageous’ that something could be stolen from Christie’s. No one has been arrested over the theft. Scotland Yard said last night: ‘Officers from Westminster are currently investigating a burglary at business premises, which is believed to have occurred between 6pm on Sunday, December 7, and 8am on Monday, December 8.

‘A number of high-value items were taken. Inquiries continue. There have been no arrests.’

A spokesman for Christie’s added: ‘Christie’s is helping the Metropolitan Police to investigate a recent, isolated incident at its London offices.’

 

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