Lost for 100 years since World War I, the Florentine diamond of the Hapsburgs found in a Canadian Vault
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Lost for 100 years since World War I, the Florentine diamond of the Hapsburgs found in a Canadian Vault")
Representative image Photograph: (Canva AI)
The legendary Florentine Diamond of the Habsburgs, lost after World War I, has resurfaced in a Canadian vault, ending a century-old royal mystery.
A suitcase containing the Hapsburg (Habsburg) family Jewellery, believed to have been lost for 100 years following World War I, has appeared in a Canadian vault. Among the jewels was one 137-Karat diamond called the Florentine, a diamond-encrusted Order of the Golden Fleece, the house order of the Hapsburg family. They were rediscovered in November and will be on public display in Canada in 2026.
The pear-shaped, yellow-hued, double-rose cut sparkling Florentine diamond has a rich history. The Medici family, parents of Marie Antenotte, the rulers of Florence, Italy, had owned it. It entered the Austrian Royal family through matrimony. The last owner of the diamond was Empress Zita, the wife of Charles I of the House of Hapsburg and the last monarch of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the uncle of Charles I, started World War I. They reportedly fled with the diamond following World War I. After that, there were revolutions, another world war, and the jewel was believed to be lost. The tale of the lost diamond became so riveting that it inspired internationally bestselling author Amy Meyerson's novel, “The Imperfects”.
How did the Florentine Diamond end up in the Canadian vault?
The violent revolutions by the Bolsheviks and anarchists that followed World War I engulfed Europe in 1918. It was the end of the monarchy and the rise of dictators like Lenin, Hitler, and Mussolini. To safeguard the inheritance, Charles fled to Switzerland, where he lived in exile with his wife Zita. After two failed attempts to restore the Monarchy, he fled to the Portuguese island of Madeira. Charles passed away in 1922 in Madeira, and soon Zita took exile in Belgium with her 7 sons, where they narrowly escaped Nazi bombings in the 1940s, and they moved to New York, United States. Cut off from the European royalities, they lived as house guest in the US and finally settled in Quebec, Canada. Zita placed the last of the remaining heirlooms in a suitcase, and it was placed in a vault without anybody's knowledge. Zita moved to Europe in 1953, leaving the diamond behind in Canada. The diamond was believed to be lost in the journey.
Karl von Hapsburg-Lothringen, 64-year-old grandson of Charles, said that it was kept hidden by Zita until revealed to her son's Robert and Rodolphe. They honoured her wish to conceal the information for 100 years after Emperor Charles' death. They then pass the information to their children. For the outside world, it was lost. There were many theories, like the Hapsburgs, like the Romanovs of Russia sold the diamonds and other inheritance. Another one was that the diamond was given away to a servant who was in South America. However, the family claims it did not spread any of these rumours, and these have been around since 1921, when the Washington Post reported that the Florentine Diamond was lost. It was valued somewhat around $133,654 in the early 19th century. The family have not shared an estimated value of the diamond, but other royal diamonds like the Hope Diamond are valued at over $200 million, and the Regent Diamond at $60 million.
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