The rare deep-blue, 31.06-carat Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, rumored to be from the same mine as the famed Hope Diamond,will be on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of NaturalHistory beginning Jan. 28, for its first public appearance in more than50 years.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will be featured through Aug. 1,2010, in the National Gem Collection in the Hall of Geology, Gems andMinerals, 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 presentthis icon of history, and gemology, to the public for the first timesince it was displayed at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958.”

The legend of the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond dates back to 1664 when Philip IVof Spain gave it to his daughter, the Infanta Margarita Teresa, uponher engagement to Emperor Leopold I of Austria. Its name was derived in1722, when the diamond was handed down to the Wittelsbachs, members ofthe ruling House of Bavaria. Bavaria became a republic after World WarI, and the crown jewels of the House of Wittelsbach were eventuallysold at Christie’s in 1931.

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond mysteriously disappeared before theauction and was replaced by a worthless piece of blue, cut glass. Thereal 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'sin London for more than $24 million. Graff re-polished the stone andmade it internally flawless, bringing it to its current weight of 31.06carats. Since then, it has achieved the top certification of internallyflawless, type Ilb (the rarest), deep-blue. According to theGemological Institute of America, the diamond “is the largest flawlessor internally flawless, fancy deep blue, natural color we have gradedto date.”

“To have two of the world’s most historical stones, theWittelsbach-Graff and the Hope Diamond, displayed together, is atestament to the stones’ history and importance,” said Graff, chairmanof Graff Diamonds International Ltd. “I believe the diamond’sappearance at the Smithsonian will represent another significantchapter in its remarkable history.”

Smithsonian scientists will examine whether the 17th centuryWittelsbach-Graff Diamond hails from the same mines in India thatproduced the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond, which is recognized as theworld’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 theSmithsonian’s state-of-the-art laboratories to determine whether thesetwo gemstones share a provenance,” said Post. “Whether or not the HopeDiamond and the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamonds are related, the mostimportant thing for our visitors is that they will have aonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the two most extraordinary bluediamonds in the world.”