Pink Diamond Returns to Public Display After 100 Years

A rare nine-carat pink diamond stolen from a French château in 1926 is going back on display, nearly a century after its theft and extraordinary recovery.

Diamond stolen in daring raid

The Grand Condé, a pear-shaped gemstone and one of the few French royal jewels to survive the Revolution, was stolen during an overnight raid at the Château de Chantilly in October 1926. The thieves reportedly hid it inside a hollowed-out apple.

An unusual discovery exposed the thieves

The diamond was recovered weeks later after a hungry maid at the hotel where the suspects were staying bit into the apple concealing it. Although the story sounds almost unbelievable, museum director Mathieu Deldicque said newspapers reported the incident at the time.

The gemstone is now returning to the Condé Museum at the château, where visitors can see it until January 3. The exhibition includes newly presented archival material about the diamond’s history and theft, alongside academic research used to establish its distinctive characteristics.

Security concerns surround exhibition

The display comes amid a series of high-profile thefts at European cultural institutions over the past year, including a daylight jewellery robbery at the Louvre in Paris. Deldicque declined to disclose the diamond’s insurance value but said extensive research had helped make the gem identifiable.

Royal history remains a mystery

The Grand Condé’s origins are still uncertain. It was first recorded in 1740 in an inventory drawn up after the death of Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. The diamond later belonged to Queen Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily, wife of King Louis Philippe I, and their son, Henri of Orléans, Duke of Aumale.

The duke eventually bequeathed it to the Institut de France, which owns the Château de Chantilly, around 50 kilometres north of Paris. The institution also holds thousands of artworks and manuscripts in the Musée Condé collection.

Natural pink diamonds are exceptionally rare and can fetch tens of millions of dollars. Sotheby’s records show that a pink diamond sold for $71.2 million in 2017, among the highest prices ever paid for one at auction.