The key facts
- The 'Grand Condé' diamond (9 carats) was stolen from the Chantilly castle in October 1926 and hidden in an apple; found a few weeks later.
- The exhibition at the Condé Museum runs until January 3; director Mathieu Deldicque answers questions about security amid a series of museum robberies in Europe.
- The stone's exact origin is unknown; first mentioned in 1740 in the inventory of the Prince de Condé's estate.
Return to the public after a century
The rare pink diamond 'Grand Condé' is on display in France for the first time since it was stolen almost 100 years ago — almost to the day — when the stone was last shown to the public. The nine-carat pear-shaped gem is being exhibited at the Condé Museum in the Chantilly castle until January 3.
The theft and the apple
The diamond was stolen during a nighttime robbery of the Chantilly castle in October 1926; the thieves hid it in an apple with a hollowed-out core. The stone, one of the few royal jewels to survive the French Revolution, was found a few weeks later: a hungry maid at the hotel where the thieves were staying bit into the apple. Museum director Mathieu Deldicque noted that although the apple story sounds implausible, it was widely covered by the newspapers of the time.
Security and research
Deldicque was asked whether the exhibition tempts fate — especially against the backdrop of a series of robberies of European cultural institutions over the past 12 months, including the brazen daytime theft of jewelry from the Louvre in Paris. He declined to tell CNN the amount of the stone's insurance, but said that extensive academic research into its properties had been carried out, making the diamond uniquely identifiable. According to the museum, the results of the analysis, as well as previously unpublished archival materials about the gem's history and theft, are included in the exhibition.
Origin and history of the stone
Natural pink diamonds are exceptionally rare and often sell for tens of millions of dollars; according to Sotheby's, the record auction price for such a stone was $71.2 million (£53.6 million) in 2017. The exact origin of the 'Grand Condé' remains a mystery. It was first mentioned in 1740 in the inventory of the estate of Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, compiled after his death, the Chantilly castle reports. The stone then entered the collection of Queen Maria Amalia of Bourbon-Sicily, wife of the French King Louis Philippe I, and later passed to her son, Prince Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale. He bequeathed it to the Institut de France, which now owns the Chantilly castle 50 km north of Paris, along with thousands of works of art and manuscripts that make up the Condé Museum's collection.
Image source, L’École des Arts Joailliers, Benjamin Chelly
The nine-carat, pear-shaped gemstone was one of few royal jewels to survive the French Revolution
