A rare 9-carat pear-shaped pink diamond, which was dramatically recovered in a theft case a hundred years ago, began its exhibition on Saturday (October 17) at the Musée Condé inside the Château de Chantilly in France. This gem, named “Grand Condé,” has made its first public appearance in nearly a century since it was stolen in 1926, becoming the center of attention for the public once again.
According to reports from BBC and CNN, the exact origin of the pink diamond “Grand Condé” remains a mystery to this day. Official records from the Château de Chantilly show that this diamond was first mentioned in the inventory of the estate of Prince Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, who passed away in 1740.
Subsequently, it was collected by Queen Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily, wife of King Louis Philippe I of France, and later inherited by their son, Prince Henri of Orléans, Duke of Aumale.
The Duke eventually bequeathed it to the French Institute, where it became part of the collection of the Musée Condé along with thousands of other artworks.
The most intriguing aspect of this gem lies in the theft case from a hundred years ago. In October 1926, thieves raided the Château de Chantilly at night, successfully stealing the “Grand Condé” and hiding it inside a hollowed-out apple. However, a few weeks later, a maid at the hotel where the thieves were staying, out of hunger, took a bite from the apple left in a pile of luggage, exposing the priceless diamond and leading to its recovery.
The director of the Musée Condé, Mathieu Deldicque, stated that despite the seeming incredulity of the “diamond in the apple” story, it was widely reported by major newspapers at the time.
Naturally occurring pink diamonds are extremely rare and highly valuable. According to auction data from Sotheby’s, the highest price ever achieved for a pink diamond on the market reached $71.2 million in 2017. Given a series of high-profile thefts at European cultural institutions over the past year, including the daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, security concerns surrounding this exhibition have also been raised.
Although Director Deldicque declined to disclose the insurance amount to CNN, he emphasized that experts have conducted in-depth academic research and attribute analysis on the diamond, giving it a unique recognizability.
The museum’s latest analytical findings and previously undisclosed archival data constitute a part of this exhibition. The pink diamond “Grand Condé” will be on display at the Château de Chantilly until January 3, 2027.