The Florentine Diamond is a lost diamond of Indian origin. It is light yellow in colour with very slight green overtones. It is cut in the form of an irregular nine-sided 126-facet double rose cut, with a weight of 137.27 carats (27.454 g). The stone is also known as the Tuscan, the Tuscany Diamond, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the Austrian Diamond and the Austrian Yellow Diamond. This article is about the gemstone. ...

Disputed history

The stone's origins are disputed. Reportedly, it has been cut by Lodewyk van Berken for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.^[1]. Charles is said to have been wearing it when he fell in the Battle of Morat on June 22, 1476. A peasant or foot soldier found it on the Duke's person and sold it for a florin, thinking it was glass. The new owner Bartholomew May, a citizen of Berne, sold it to the Genoese, who sold it in turn to Ludovico Sforza. By way of the Fuggers it came into the Medici treasury at Florence. Pope Julius II is also named as one of its owners. Lodewyk van Berken (15th century) is famous for inventing the scaif. ... Rogier van der Weyden painted Charles the Bold in about 1460, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece. ... Combatants Duchy of Burgundy Swiss Confederation Commanders Duke Charles, René II, Duke of Lorraine, Jacques, Duke of Savoy Hans von Hallwyl, Hans Waldmann, Adrian von Bubenberg Strength c. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... Events March 2 - Battle of Grandson. ... Location within Switzerland The city of Berne (German   , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna , Bernese German Bärn ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland and the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ... Ludovico Sforza in a portrait by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis. ... The Fugger family was a historically prominent group of European bankers. ... Pope Julius II (December 5, 1443 – February 21, 1513), born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513. ...

Another version of the stone's early history is that the rough stone was acquired in the late 1500s from the King of Vijayanagar in southern India by the Portuguese Governor of Goa, Ludovico Castro, Count of Montesanto, after the king's defeat by Portuguese troops. The crystal was deposited with the Jesuits in Rome until, after lengthy negotiations, Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany succeeded in buying it from the Castro-Noranha family for 35,000 Portuguese scudi crocati. Vijayanagara (often written Vijayanagar), in northern Karnataka, is the name of the now ruined capital city of the historic Vijayanagar empire in the Southern part of India. ... Goa   (Konkani: गोंय goṃya; Marathi: गोवा govā; Portuguese: Goa) is Indias smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population (after Sikkim, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh). ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Ferdinando I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 17 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. Ferdinando was the fourth son of Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora of Toledo (1519...

Duke Ferdinand's son, Cosimo II, finally entrusted his father's purchase to a cutter, Pompeo Studentoli, a Venetian working in Florence. The finished gem was delivered on October 10, 1615. An inventory drawn up on Cosimo's death confirms the acquisition of the rough diamond by Ferdinand and describes the gem as 'faceted on both sides and encircled by a diamond encrusted band'. Cosimo II de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) ruled as Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 to 1621. ... Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ...

Documented history

Documented history begins when Jean Baptiste Tavernier, the French jeweller and traveller saw the stone among the possessions of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1657. It then passed into the hands of the Habsburgs when the last of the Medicis died through the marriage of Francis III Stephan of Lorraine to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and was placed in the Habsburg Crown Jewels in the Hofburg in Vienna. At the time it was valued at $750,000. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. ... Ferdinando II de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) ruled as Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. ... The Medici family was a powerful and influential Florentine family during the Renaissance, whose wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Becoming first bankers, and later politicians, clergy and nobles, the Medici attained their greatest prominence during the 15th through 17th centuries... Francis I Francis I (December 8, 1708 - August 18, 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany. ... Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia The worlds most famous coin, a silver thaler of Maria Theresa, dated 1780. ... Hofburg Neue Burg section, seen from Heldenplatz. ... Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ...

After the fall of the Austrian Empire during World War I, the stone was taken by the Imperial Family into exile in Switzerland. The stone was stolen some time after 1918 by a person close to the family and taken to South America with other gems of the Crown Jewels. After this, it was rumoured that the diamond was brought into the United States in the 1920's and was recut and sold. Anthem: Volkshymne (Peoples Anthem) Capital Vienna Language(s) German Religion Roman Catholic Government Monarchy History  - Established 1804  - Disestablished 1867 Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy The Crown of the Austrian Emperor The Austrian Empire (German: ) was an empire centred on what is modern day Austria that officially lasted from 1804... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

References

Edward Jay Epstein, born in 1935, is an American investigative journalist. ...

External links

• Famous diamonds