Century-Old Riddle of Florentine Diamond Finally Solved
November 10, 25
(IDEX Online) - The riddle of the iconic Florentine Diamond, which was missing for over a century, has finally been solved.
The 137.27-carat pale yellow gem, set in a brooch, was, it turns out, safely stored in a Canadian bank vault all that time.
It was among the royal treasures that belonged to the Habsburg family - descendants of Austria's last emperor - as the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed in 1918, at the end of World War I.
The Florentine Diamond was so-called because it was originally owned by the Medici family, rulers of Florence, in the 16th century before being passed to the Habsburgs.
It features an unusual and intricate nine-sided double rose cut with 126 facets, and was widely believed to have been lost, stolen or recut.
Last month, the Habsburg family finally revealed the history of the Florentine Diamond to the New York Times.
Throughout a century of wild speculation it was safely deposited at a bank vault in Quebec, Canada.
It was placed there by Empress Zita, widow of Emperor Karl I, last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and nephew of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination triggered World War I.
Empress Zita told nobody of its whereabouts, except for two of her sons Robert and Rodolphe, who were instructed that they, and their descendants, must keep it a secret for 100 years after Karl's death in 1922.
The Habsburg family is not planning to sell the diamond. Instead it says it will be displayed at a museum in Canada.
Pic shows replica of the Florentine Diamond (Wikimedia Commons)