ZURICH- Smash-and-grab thieves have stolen jewellery designed by Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger, famous for creating the nightmarish creature in Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi film Alien.
Police in the eastern canton of the Grisons, where Giger was born, said pieces worth nearly 18,000 Swiss francs ($18,450) were taken from the shop window of a gallery in the provincial capital of Chur before dawn on Thursday.
They posted pictures showing a wristwatch emblazoned with skulls and rings featuring protruding tongues and goggle-wearing figures.
Giger, who died in 2014, was awarded an Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects in 1980. Exploring the relationship between the human body and the machine, he created "biomechanical" images of humans fused with industrial parts. ($1 = 0.9757 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Hugh Lawson) ((Michael.Shields@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7461; Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
