He disappeared in 1792 and nothing was ever heard of: the theft of the Blue Diamond, the jewel of the French Crown

Throughout history, robberies of all kinds have been recorded, some highlighted by the ingenuity of the thieves, which seems to have been taken from a movie, and others highlighted by riots that never appeared. One of them is the case of theft of the Blue Diamondmoon jewel of the French Crown.

This event occurred in 1792 and it was classified as one of the most important robberies, not only for its economic value, but also for its historical value. What is striking about this case is that there was no type of threat involved and when passing from hand to hand, The jewel could never be recovered. I know the details.

The Blue Diamond, the jewel of the French Crown that was never seen again

The Blue Diamondalso known as Bleu de France (Blue of France), adorned the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece of King Louis XV. This gem was acquired from a French adventurer and merchant by 220,000 pounds –the equivalent of 150 kilograms of pure gold. It was quickly added to the so-called “Cabinet of Curiosities” of the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Years later, this jewel was stolen by an ancient king’s valetThierry Ville-d’Avray. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Abbaye prison, where he died shortly after, while the jewels were returned to the Garde-Meuble. They were kept there until, on September 11, 1792, some unknown They stole the royal treasury.

The thieves were able to steal several consecutive nights without anyone knowing. They took over nine thousand jewelsamong them, the diamond-covered sword of Louis XVI, the chapelle of Cardinal Richelieu and gems such as the Sancy diamond, of 55 carats, or the Regent, of 140, in addition to the splendid Blue Diamond.

Those responsible were arrested shortly after and part of the loot was soon recovered, but The diamond was still missing. This gem remained in the possession of a cadet named Guillot. Fled to England, he was imprisoned when trying to sell the jewel in 1796. From that moment on, nothing more was heard about the diamond.

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The suspicions of a diamond

In 1812, a 45.5-carat, oval-shaped blue diamond appeared in the possession of a dealer, whose origin no one could establish. The piece was immediately purchased by the banker and collector Thomas Hope, who gave his name to the “new” diamond.

This remained in the family until they went bankrupt and had to be auctioned off. In 1901, it was acquired by the American diamond artist Simon Frankel, who took it with him to New York.

It was auctioned again several times and ended up in the hands of New York collector Harry Winston, who He donated it in 1958 to the Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, where it remains today.