Curtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond

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The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will be featured through Aug. 1, 2010, in the National Gem Collection in the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, where the Hope Diamond is on permanent display.

“The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is an object of intrigue and legend, certainly one of the great gemstones of the world,” said Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection. “We are thrilled to present this icon of history, and gemology, to the public for the first time since it was displayed at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958.”

The legend of the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond dates back to 1664 when Philip IV of Spain gave it to his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa, upon her engagement to Emperor Leopold I of Austria. Its name was derived in 1722, when the diamond was handed down to the Wittelsbachs, members of the ruling House of Bavaria. Bavaria became a republic after World War I, and the crown jewels of the House of Wittelsbach were eventually sold at Christie’s in 1931.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond mysteriously disappeared before the auction and was replaced by a worthless piece of blue, cut glass. The real gem resurfaced in Belgium in 1951 and was eventually displayed, without attribution, at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958. Belgian gem expert Joseph Komkommer correctly identified the diamond in 1962.

In December 2008, “king of diamonds” Laurence Graff bought the 35.56-carat stone at Christie's in London for more than $24 million. Graff re-polished the stone and made it internally flawless, bringing it to its current weight of 31.06 carats. Since then, it has achieved the top certification of internally flawless, type Ilb (the rarest), deep-blue. According to the Gemological Institute of America, the diamond “is the largest flawless or internally flawless, fancy deep blue, natural color we have graded to date.”

“To have two of the world’s most historical stones, the Wittelsbach-Graff and the Hope Diamond, displayed together, is a testament to the stones’ history and importance,” said Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds International Ltd. “I believe the diamond’s appearance at the Smithsonian will represent another significant chapter in its remarkable history.”

Smithsonian scientists will examine whether the 17th century Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond hails from the same mines in India that produced the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond, which is recognized as the world’s most near-perfect example of a blue diamond.

“During the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond’s residence at the museum, special tests will be conducted by our research team in the Smithsonian’s state-of-the-art laboratories to determine whether these two gemstones share a provenance,” said Post. “Whether or not the Hope Diamond and the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamonds are related, the most important thing for our visitors is that they will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the two most extraordinary blue diamonds in the world.”