Thank you Arthur. What an interesting history. I can only imagine how shocked the Emperor would have been to have had the jewels stolen by someone he trusted.
--Previous Message-- : 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) : : : : : :
on July 8, 2014, 3:54 pm, in reply to "