Re: Florentine Diamond Archived Message
Posted by Arthur  on July 8, 2014, 12:37 pm, in reply to "Re: Archduchess Isabella (née Princess of Croy)"
Hello Beth1, and welcome Fiorentino82!
The Florentine Diamond (also known as the Tuscan, the Tuscany Diamond, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Austrian Diamond and the Austrian Yellow Diamond) was a big yellow diamond, which was formerly in the possession of the Habsburg family. It was light yellow in colour with very slight green overtones. It was cut in the form of an irregular (although very intricate) nine-sided 126-facet double rose cut, with a weight of 137.27 carats (in other words: it was a BIG diamond!).
The early history of the stone is unclear. According to some versions, it belonged to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in the 15th century. After his death, the stone would have been in possession of the Sforzas, the Popes, and finally the Medici. Another version tells the diamond would have been bought in India by the Portuguese governor of Goa, from where the stone would have been sent to Rome, then to Florence.
The stone is clearly documented from 1657 on, when the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Tavernier describes the diamond in the collection of Ferdinando II de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Later, Francis of Lorraine, husband of Empress Maria-Teresia of Austria, became Grand-Duke of Tuscany in 1737 after the extinction of the Medici family, and he brought the Florentine diamond to Vienna, where it was stored in the Imperial Treasure at the Hofburg.
The diamond must have been considered a private property of the Habsburgs, because when monarchy was abolished in Austria after WW1, Emperor Charles took it with him (among other jewels) when he was forced into exile. Charles, who was in need for cash after all his properties were confiscated without compensation, gave the jewels to a Zurich banker named Bruno Steiner and asked him in 1921 to sell the jewels. Unfortunately, Steiner stole the jewels and disappeared - of course without giving the expected money to the exiled Emperor (who died a few months later in Madeira in extreme poverty). The jewels (including the Florentine diamond and a ruby and diamond parure, whose stones were said to have belonged to Queen Marie-Antoinette of France and to her daughter Madame Royale) have never been seen again since then... 
Here is a link to the Wikipedia page about the Florentine diamond:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_Diamond
Here are (still from Wikipedia) pictures from the diamond: on the left, a glass replica of the diamond (from the "Reich der Kristalle" museum in Munich), and on the right, a late 19th-century picture of the diamond, included in a diamond cap decoration.
 
I do not think that the big pear-shaped diamond worn by Archduchess Isabella on the picture posted by Fiorentino82 is the Florentine. As said above, the Florentine was among the private possessions of the Emperor, so there is no reason why it should have come onto Archduchess Isabella's head. Her husband, Archduke Frederick of Habsburg-Teschen, was a rather distant (though well-known and respected) cousin of the Emperor. Archduke Frederick owned large estates in Bohemia and Hungary and was a very wealthy man, who could certainly afford splendid jewels for his ambitious wife...
--Previous Message--
: Hello Fiorentino82. I am intrigued by your
: mention of this diamond, as I have never
: heard of it before. Could you give me some
: information about it, please. It is always
: fascinating to learn about new (or to me)
: jewels. Many thanks.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hi All,
:
: This is my first post here ))
: I have always been fascinated by the
: Austrian Habsburgs but in the matter of
: their jewels records are very rare. Although
: from time to time some piece ressurface in
: internet. So I have many detectives work
: ahead, my first mystery is about the very
: sizeable diamond that archduchess Isabelle
: of Teschen seems wearing in her hat. Is it
: the famous Fiorentino? Or another from what
: I have read this line of the habsburg was
: the richest one. Can anybody bring some
: light?
:
:
:
: http://www.gogmsite.net/the-belle-epoque-1890-1914/1909-archduchess-isabelle-d.html
:
: (I hope i added properly the link for the
: image I'm talking about)
:
:
:
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