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Grand Condé Pink Diamond Returns to Public View
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Grand Condé Pink Diamond Returns to Public View
The nine-carat, pear-shaped pink diamond known as the “Grand Condé” is being exhibited at the Condé Museum in the Château de Chantilly, France. The display runs until 3 January, marking the first public showing of the gem since its theft a century earlier.
Historical Background
The Grand Condé was stolen in an overnight raid on the Château de Chantilly in October 1926. Thieves hid the stone inside a hollowed-out apple, and the diamond was recovered weeks later when a maid at the thieves’ hotel bit into the fruit. First recorded in a 1740 inventory of Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, the gem later entered the collections of Queen Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily, her son Prince Henri of Orléans, Duke of Aumale, and ultimately the Institut de France, which now owns the château and its museum holdings.
Security and Academic Study
Museum director Mathieu Deldicque noted that, while the apple anecdote may sound far-fetched, contemporary newspapers documented it. He declined to disclose the diamond’s insurance value but emphasized that extensive academic analysis has been conducted to create a uniquely identifiable profile of the stone. The museum says these scientific results, together with previously unseen archival material, are part of the current exhibition.
Rarity and Market Value
Naturally occurring pink diamonds are exceptionally rare and can command tens of millions of dollars at auction. The highest price recorded for a pink diamond was $71.2 million (£53.6 million) in 2017, according to Sotheby’s.
Exhibition Details and Institutional Context
The Condé Museum, located within the Château de Chantilly about 50 km (31 miles) north of Paris, houses the Grand Condé alongside thousands of artworks and manuscripts that form the Musée Condé collection. The exhibition coincides with heightened public concern over recent heists at European cultural institutions, including a daylight robbery at the Louvre earlier this year.