A visit to the Washington museum could give several ideas to those who write jewellery heist stories, as two of the most beautiful jewels in the world will be side by side.
The museum will be the temporary home to the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond, a blue diamond that measures a whopping 31.06 carats. The other famed gem, the Hope Diamond, is 45.52 carats. What makes this exhibition so rare is not only the combination of the two stones, but the fact that the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond has not been on display for over a half century.
The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond was first identified in 1660 when King Philip IV of Spain offered his daughter to become the wife of Emporer Leopold I of Austria. In 1722, the diamond became the property of the Wittelsbach family, which long ruled over Bavaria, a region of south-eastern Germany. Following World War I, the diamond disappeared, and re-emerged in 1951 in Belgium. Last year, it was sold at a London auction for $24 million to Laurence Graff, a jeweller.
The Hope Diamond has no listed value, and is simply considered priceless. The exhibition will be in Washington from January 28 until August 1, 2010.