A Stradivarius violin worth £1.2m was stolen from a musician in a railway station café last Monday evening, the police have reported.
The 314-year-old instrument was taken along with two bows, one of which was a Peccatte worth £62,000. Korean violinist Min-Jin Kym was eating a sandwich in Pret A Manger at Euston Station when the violin was taken, at around 8.30pm.
Min-Jin Kym, who has played as a soloist with the Philharmonia, and the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, was apparently distracted by her iPhone and computer when the theft took place, according to staff at the café.
'She was really upset and panicking, like someone who had lost something expensive,' says Hafid Salah, who was working there at the time, in The Times. 'She looked like she was going to cry. We thought that maybe it was a computer, but a million-pound violin is something else. We had no idea.”
Lark Insurance Broking Group is offering a £15,000 reward for anyone who provides information about the theft. The instrument is said to have visible repair work on a crack and a specially moulded chin rest.
Detective Inspector Andy Rose, of the British Transport Police said: 'These items hold enormous sentimental and professional value for the victim but although they are extremely valuable, it would be very difficult to sell them on as they are so rare and distinctive.'
Elizabeth Davis