Woman charged with receiving Marie Antoinette''s watch

First published: 04-03-2010

Police in Los Angeles have revealed that the widow of an infamous Israeli burglar has been convicted of receiving stolen property following a 27-year-old police investigation involving some of the world's most prized watches and museum artefacts.

The LA Mayer Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem was raided in 1983 and resulted in 106 items being stolen, including a picket watch created especially for Marie Antoinette in the 18th century.

California insurance commissioner Steve Poizner asserted that it was considered the rarest and most expensive watch in the world and revealed that 64-year-old Nili Shamrat of Tarzana was convicted last month and sentenced to five years' probation and 300 hours of community service.

Mr Poizner explained that Ms Shamrat's husband passed the items onto her in his will, with no less than 96 of them being recovered - including Marie Antoinette's watch.

Marie Antoinette was the queen consort of France and was married to Louis XVI, dying in 1792 during the French Revolution.

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