Famous Missing Gemstones
If you’re looking to sell your jewelry in Boca Raton, you may be in for a surprise if you are selling one of these famous gemstones — and they may be lucky for you even though they weren’t so lucky for their previous owners.
Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other gemstones have long been the sign of wealth and power. But some gemstones are reputed to be cursed or unlucky. Other gems have simply disappeared, never to reappear, or to appear in unexpected places or forms. You may wonder how someone could simply “lose” a huge gemstone, but given the value, they make it easy for at least a few to grow legs and disappear.
Akbar Shah
The Akbar Shah is a light green, pear-shaped diamond that is 73.60 carats. Also called “Lustre of the Peacock Throne.” It was owned by the Mughal emperor Akbar and inscribed by his grandson, dating the gemstone to 1618. It is believed to have been one of the peacock’s eyes in the Peacock Throne which was plundered and brought to Iran where the Kurds took the throne apart for the precious gems and metals.
The Akbar Shah appeared again in 1866 when a merchant named George Blogg bought a stone called “The Shepherd Stone.” He brought it to London and had it reshaped, thus removing the historic inscriptions. He sold the stone to the Gaekwad of Baroda, Malhar Rao, Tax returns from his heirs suggest that they may still have the stone, but no one really knows if they still hold possession of it or if they sold it.
The Blue Diamond
In 1989, a janitor sneaked into Prince Faisal bin Fahd’s bedroom and stole the Blue Diamond along with some jewelry. The janitor was from Thailand and returned home with the goods, but the Saudi Arabian government alerted Thailand as to the theft. Officials captured the janitor and some of the goods, but he had sold some of the gems and jewelry. The Saudi government claimed that the Blue Diamond was missing and many of the gems were manufactured and not real. The Thai government counteracted and claimed that there was no Blue Diamond.
What gets weird is that in 1995, the police officer who was charged with the initial investigation was arrested for ordering the murders of the wife and son of the jeweler who purportedly made the counterfeit gems. The officer was convicted and sentenced to death but his sentence was reduced to 50 years in jail time. The thief, on the other hand, did only three years of jail time out of the seven he was initially given. In this case, perhaps crime did pay.
The Florentine Diamond
The Florentine Diamond is or was a yellow-green diamond that weighed 137.27 carats. It’s origins are disputed but it is believed to have belonged to the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. When Charles the Bold fell in battle in 1476, a soldier took it and sold it. It eventually made its way to Ferdinando II de’ Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany who owned it in 1657. It eventually made its way to the Habsburg Crown Jewels through marriage between a Medici and the Empress of Austria. During World War I, Charles I of Austria took the Florentine Diamond with him in his exile, but it was stolen. Rumors insist that the diamond made its way to the United States. In the United States it was purportedly recut and sold.
The Great Mogul Diamond
The Great Mogul Diamond has an amazing story. In 1650, the stone came from southern India and weighed 787.50 carats. After a botched attempt at cutting it, it was down to about 280 carats. Stolen when the Persian ruler Nadir Shah invaded India in 1739, it disappeared when Nadir Shah was assassinated eight years later. Some believe it may now be the Orlov Diamond because of the similarity of color and cut, but others believe it was cut into smaller stones to hide it.
The Great Star of Africa’s Twin
The Great Star of Africa is a pear shaped diamond that weighs a whopping 530.20 carats. It is part of the British crown jewels as it is set in the Royal Scepter and resides at the Tower of London. But it isn’t the gemstone that has gone missing. You see, the Great Star of Africa came from the largest diamond crystal found called the Cullian. The Cullian was 3106 carats in weight. What’s more, when it was discovered, it appeared that it was much larger and able to produce a twin stone. No one knows what happened to half the stone– or even if there was another half. Still, it makes for exciting speculation as to what diamonds are still lurking out there.
A Pink Diamond Mystery
Allegedly Swiss vaults aren’t as safe as we think. A South African diamond trader named Sylla Moussa had entrusted a 50.56 carat pink diamond to a storage company’s vault at the airport in Geneva. Although he had received emails and verbal confirmations that the stone was there and completely safe, when he went to look at it, he found it was gone. Perhaps the baggage handlers got hold of it? After all, it was at an airport.
Right now Swiss Authorities are investigating. The storage company is a popular place for storing artwork and jewelry.
Make Your Diamonds Disappear
If you have old jewelry and need to get cash fast, take it to the best diamond buyers in Boca Raton, Florida. We offer competitive prices on jewelry and diamonds, so be sure to contact us before selling your diamonds and gold anywhere else. Don’t risk mailing your jewelry — you could lose your jewelry and never get fully refunded. Instead, bring it to us so we can offer you great prices on your old jewelry. We buy gold and gemstones and because we are local, you never have to let your jewelry out of your sight when looking to sell it.