Thieves Hid Royal Pink Diamond in Apple

France has a long and fascinating history of royal diamond thefts.

During the French Revolution, in September 1792, thieves looted the royal storehouse in Paris, stealing three of the most celebrated diamonds in the French Crown Jewels: the 69-carat French Blue, the 55.23-carat pale yellow Sancy and the 140.64-carat Regent.

The French Blue resurfaced in London in 1812, recut to 45.52 carats and since known as the Hope Diamond. The Sancy was recovered two years after it was stolen.

And the Regent was, bizarrely, hidden in a hole cut into an attic beam in a house outside central Paris, according to the Louvre.

It remained in the beam, unsold, for about 15 months, until an anonymous tip led to its recovery in December 1793. Napoleon later had the stone mounted in his sword.

More than two centuries later, France's royal jewels were targeted again. On October 19, 2025, four thieves broke into the Louvre's Apollo Gallery in broad daylight, cut into display cases and made off with eight pieces of historic jewelry, valued at 88 million euros (about $102 million).

Four suspects have been charged over the raid, but none of the stolen items has been recovered.

Against that backdrop, the theft of another French diamond is currently in the news. It's just gone on display, exactly 100 years after it was recovered.

It may be a lesser-known gem, but it's story is all the more remarkable.

The Grand Conde, a rare 9.01-carat pink diamond, was stolen from the Chateau de Chantilly, in northern France, in October 1926. Two months later, it was found hidden inside an apple in a Paris hotel room.

A chambermaid, named as Suzanne Schiltz, had taken the fruit from the suitcase of a guest who had left without paying his bill. When she bit into it, her teeth struck the diamond.

The thieves were Leon Kauffer and Emile Souter, two young, demobilized French aviators. They broke into the chateau on the night of October 11-12, 1926, using ladders to reach a first-floor balcony.

They stole 79 pieces of jewelry and other valuables, including the Grand Conde. The Times of London estimated the haul at seven million to eight million francs, primarily for its historical significance. That would be roughly $4 million to $4.5 million in today's money.

This is how the newspaper reported the theft and its aftermath on October 13, 1926.

"They (four suspects) are believed to have arrived at Chantilly by motor-car," says the report.

"They stole two ladders, by means of which they reached the balcony on the first floor, broke the window, bored a line of holes in the oaken shutters behind and burst in the woodwork.

"They then smashed the glass case containing the rose diamond and other jewels."

It concludes: "The diamond was found weeks later hidden in an apple in a hotel room. It will go back on display at the Chateau de Chantilly this month."

The apple is the story's most memorable detail, even if The Times missed the crucial detail of the chambermaid biting into it.

But the thieves struggled to dispose of their loot. They reportedly sold other stolen items for just 30,000 francs, equivalent to around $22,000 today.

The Grand Conde proved impossible to sell: its fame made it instantly recognizable, and jewelers feared being implicated in the crime.

Kauffer reportedly considered sending it back to the museum by post. When he returned to the hotel, police were waiting for him.

The story sounds far-fetched and accounts differ on some details of the discovery, but the central fact is well established: the diamond was concealed in an apple and found when the chambermaid bit into it.

Historians have since established that the diamond was documented in a 1740 inventory, drawn up after the death of Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Conde.

It could be far older than that, with claims that it belonged to his famous ancestor, Louis II de Bourbon, the Grand Conde (1621-1686), a celebrated French prince and military commander.

What is known is that the diamond later belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie, wife of King Louis-Philippe, the last king of France, before entering the collection of Henri d'Orleans, Duke of Aumale.

He founded the Musee Conde and bequeathed the Chateau de Chantilly and its collections to the Institut de France, a national learned society that oversees several of France's academies and administers historic collections and cultural properties. The bequest took effect when he died in 1897.

The stone weighs 9.01 carats and is cut into a somewhat irregular, flattened pear shape, measuring about 20 by 14 by 5 millimeters. Its delicate pink color is distributed remarkably evenly through the stone, rather than appearing in obvious streaks or bands.

The Grand Conde is now on display in The Pink Diamond, an exhibition at the Chateau de Chantilly marking 100 years since the theft and recovery.

Organized by the Musee Conde in partnership with L'Ecole, School of Jewelry Arts, it opened on October 17 and runs until January 3, 2027.

Have a fabulous weekend.