The allure of lost treasure captures the imagination, and when those treasures are glittering gems and jewels, the mystery deepens. While the Heart of the Ocean from Titanic may be fictional, the world is full of real gems and jewels that have vanished, leaving behind tales of intrigue and adventure. Here are ten missing gems and jewels, still waiting to be rediscovered.
10 The Blue Diamond
Originating in India, the Blue Diamond was a 69-carat gem considered the world’s first blue diamond. Acquired by King Louis XIV of France in 1668, he had it cut down and mounted in the Order of the Golden Fleece. The diamond’s early history is well-documented, but its later years are shrouded in mystery.
During the French Revolution in 1791, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were arrested while attempting to flee. Revolutionaries seized the royal palace, and the French crown jewels, including the Blue Diamond, were stolen. The French Blue disappeared without a trace. Some believe the Hope Diamond, now at the Smithsonian Institute, is a recut version of the French Blue, reduced to about two-thirds of its original size.
9 The Great Mogul Diamond
Mined in India in 1650, the Great Mogul Diamond was the largest ever found there, weighing an astounding 787 carats. Owned by Emperor Aurangzeb, it was sent to Venice to be cut by Hortentio Borgis, who reduced it by roughly 500 carats. The Emperor, unimpressed, fined the jeweler heavily.
The diamond vanished from historical records after that. Many speculate it was lost during the 1739 sack of Delhi. Some believe the Orlov diamond is the same as the Great Mogul Diamond, noting both were described as “the shape of half an egg.” However, without more evidence, the true identity remains a mystery.
8 The Irish Crown Jewels
These jewels belonged to the Order of St Patrick, an aristocratic order in Ireland, and were crucial for swearing-in ceremonies. The Order continued until 1974, but the jewels disappeared long before that.
On July 6, 1907, their disappearance was discovered just days before King Edward VII’s scheduled visit to Dublin to swear in a new knight. A city-wide police hunt ensued, but the jewels were never recovered. Numerous claims of their rediscovery have surfaced over the years, but all proved false.
7 The Marlborough Diamond
The Marlborough Diamond, a 45-carat gem, was proudly displayed in the front window of a London jewelry store. In a brazen daylight heist on September 11, 1980, the Chicago mob, disguised as Arab Sheikhs, robbed the store.
Although the mobsters were caught at O’Hare airport in Chicago and imprisoned for over forty years, the Marlborough Diamond was never found. Police suspect the now-freed mobsters know its location, but they have remained silent.
6 The Atocha Star
The Atocha Star, a 25-carat Colombian emerald, was mined in the 17th century and sent to Spain on the ship Nuestra Señora de Atocha in 1622. The ship sank off the coast of Florida during a hurricane, taking the emerald and other treasures with it.
In 1985, Mel Fisher led a diving group to the wreck and recovered the Atocha Star. Fisher had the emerald cut down to about 12 carats and mounted on a golden statue of an eagle. In 2016, the Golden Eagle was stolen from an exhibit in Vancouver. Despite ongoing police efforts, the statue and the Atocha Star remain missing.
5 Akhbar Shah
The Akbar Shah diamond, originally 119 carats, was set into the Peacock Throne of Emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire. The throne was plundered and taken to Iran, where it remained hidden for nearly a century.
The diamond resurfaced in 1866 with a merchant named George Blogg, who renamed it “The Shepherd Stone” and had it reshaped in London. He then sold it to Malhar Rao in India. Today, tax returns suggest the heirs of the Rao family might still possess the stone. However, this remains unverified, and its current location is unknown.
4 The Florentine Diamond
The Florentine Diamond, a 137-carat yellowish diamond, may have belonged to Charles, Duke of Burgundy. After the Duke’s death in battle in 1476, a soldier sold it. It later reappeared in Tuscany with the de’ Medici family, who sold it in 1657.
The diamond changed hands several times before ending up with Charles I of Austria. During his exile in World War I, the gem was stolen. It’s rumored to have been taken to the United States, recut, and sold to conceal its identity, but historians haven’t confirmed this.
3 Hawaiian Crown Jewels
Hawaii, once a sovereign nation, possessed its own crown jewels. Their story is shrouded in mystery. The jewels went missing after Queen Liliuokalani’s deposition on April 3, 1893.
The new government discovered that the crown of King Kalakaua had been stripped of over 600 jewels. Some jewels were found on royal guards, but many were sold on the black market and never recovered.
2 The Romanov Crown Jewels
The Bolshevik Revolution is notorious for the missing Princess Anastasia and Prince Alexei, but the Romanov crown jewels also disappeared during this period. The Romanov crown jewels were thought to have been accounted for until a book turned up in 1922, alluding to previously unknown pieces from the collection.
While the whereabouts of the missing jewels remain a mystery, experts believe Soviet agents stole some, while others were hidden during the royal family’s exile in Siberia.
1 The Eagle Diamond
Unlike most gems from Europe, South America, or the Far East, the Eagle Diamond was discovered in Eagle, Wisconsin. The 15 to 16-carat stone was found in 1876 during well construction.
Clarissa Woods took the stone to a jeweler, who sent it to Chicago for analysis. It was identified as the largest diamond found in the U.S. at the time. Tiffany’s in New York City bought the stone, and it later ended up at the American Museum of Natural History. In 1964, the Eagle Diamond was stolen by “Murph the Surf.” While many stolen jewels were recovered, the Eagle Diamond remains lost.
The stories of these missing gems and jewels, filled with theft, revolution, and mystery, continue to captivate. Will these treasures ever be found? Only time will tell.
Which of these missing treasures intrigues you the most? Leave your comment below!
