For more than a century, his whereabouts were a mystery worthy of a historical novel. A legendary diamond, disappeared with the end of an empire, and rumors of secret vaults, night escapes and family pacts. Now, the truth comes to light: the treasure of the Habsburgs, one of the main dynasties in Europe, was, after all, kept under lock and key in a bank in Canada all this time.
A 137-carat diamond, the Florentiner has always been as rare as it is coveted, a sort of “sparkling soul of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.” It was thought that it had been sold, stolen or cut into pieces, but, after all, it was always stored inside a leather suitcase, in the safe of a Quebec banking institution, where it remained forgotten for decades.
In November 1918, with the imminent collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and revolution shaking Vienna, Emperor Charles I of Austria ordered the crown’s treasures to be removed from the country. The task was entrusted to Count Leopold von Berchtold, who took the jewels to Switzerland for safekeeping. Among the pieces were Empress Sissi’s diamond crown, a bracelet with a large emerald worn by Maria Teresa and the Florentiner, a historic 137-carat diamond, once associated with the Medici family and considered a symbol of the Habsburg lineage.
A few years later, in 1921, the treasure disappeared without a trace and from then on versions multiplied: some said that it was sold in Budapest to finance a failed monarchical restoration; others swore they had seen fragments of the jewelry at New York auctions. But nothing has been proven. Until now.
The Louvre robbery and a phone call
The revelation of what really happened began the day the world was surprised by another shocking disappearance of royal jewels, with the robbery of the Louvre in Paris, says the German magazine The mirror. On that day, Karl Habsburg, the last heir of the Habsburgs, great-grandson of Charles I and current head of the former imperial house, decided it was time to call a journalist from Der Spiegel with an enigmatic invitation: “Come to Vienna, I have news for you.” The news was just a revelation about the whereabouts of one of the most sought after jewels of all time: “Florentino is in Canada. And he is not alone.”
As now revealed by Karl Habsburg, Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the last Austrian empress, had left secret instructions: two male heirs should only be informed of the location of the treasure one hundred years after their escape from Europe. That date arrived in 2022. The Canadian safe was finally opened and, inside, carefully arranged, were the jewels that the world thought lost.
Royal jeweler AE Köchert, whose family served the Habsburgs for six generations, flew to Canada with the original catalog of imperial treasures. “My heart beat like I was 20 again,” he told Der Spiegel. By comparing each piece with photographs from 1918, authenticity was confirmed. “The Florentino is of astonishing purity. Its shine is reminiscent of a good Scottish whiskey”, he said.
Legal battle ahead
Not everything was found again, however. Some iconic pieces are missing, including Sissi’s crown and a column of roses by Maria Teresa, says the German magazine. These, apparently, no one really knows where they are.
With almost all the mystery uncovered, a legal battle begins over ownership of the jewels. The Austrian State considers that the imperial assets belong to it; the Habsburg heirs claim they were taken abroad before the current confiscation law came into effect.