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14-551: The stone's origins are disputed. Reportedly, it was cut by Lodewyk van Bercken for Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy. Charles is said to have been wearing it when he fell in the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477. A peasant or foot soldier found the diamond on the Duke's person and sold it for 2 francs, thinking it was glass. The new owner Bartholomew May, a citizen of Bern , sold it to

28-669: Is kept at the Natural History Museum, Vienna . After the fall of the Austrian Empire after World War I , the stone by order of Emperor Charles I of Austria was removed from the Imperial Treasury and taken with him into exile. The stone was stolen some time after 1918 by a person close to the Imperial family and taken to South America with other Crown Jewels. After this, it was rumoured that

42-518: The Bold also sent one of his favorite jewels to be recut, which is now known as the Sancy Diamond. Diamonds became popular as ornaments in jewelry in the 1400s and the different techniques and styles of diamond cuts were gradually developed over many years. Lodewyk van Bercken was a Flemish diamond polisher who invented the scaif. This ingenious polishing wheel enabled him to quickly cut facets into diamonds with precision. The scaif transformed

56-713: The Genoese, who in turn sold it to Ludovico Sforza . By way of the Fuggers , it came into the Medici treasury at Florence. Pope Julius II is also named as one of its owners. Another version of the stone's early history claims that the rough stone was acquired in the late 16th century from the King of Vijayanagar in southern India by the Portuguese Governor of Goa , Ludovico Castro, Count of Montesanto. The crystal

70-762: The Habsburgs when the last of the Medicis died through the marriage of Francis III Stephan of Lorraine to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and was placed in the Habsburg Crown Jewels in the Hofburg in Vienna . At the time, it was valued at $ 750,000. The diamond was set in a hat aigrette and displayed together with other crown jewels in the Imperial Treasury in display case XIII. In 1865,

84-585: The Healing Waters , Amy Meyerson's 2020 novel The Imperfects , Justin B. Hodder's 2021 novel The Mists of Morne , as well as the 2022 novel Der rote Diamant ( The Red Diamond ) by Thomas Hürlimann . [REDACTED] Media related to Florentine Diamond at Wikimedia Commons Lodewyk van Bercken Lodewyk van Bercken (also known in French as Louis de Berquem ) was a mid- to late-15th century Flemish jeweller and diamond cutter, renowned in

98-403: The acquisition of the rough diamond by Ferdinand and describes the gem as 'faceted on both sides and encircled by a diamond encrusted band'. It is also known as Dufner Diamond. Documented history begins when Jean Baptiste Tavernier , the French jeweller and traveller, saw the stone among the possessions of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1657. It then passed into the hands of

112-467: The diamond trade. It opened the doors to the creation of complex diamond cuts which otherwise would have never been possible. The scaif is still used today as an essential tool for the diamond industry in order to create facets on diamonds. In 1475, Lodewyk van Bercken invented the world's first Pear Cut Diamond. He introduced the concept of absolute symmetry in the placement of facets on the stone. His meticulous and precisely studied advancements resulted in

126-712: The diamond was brought into the United States in the 1920s and was recut and sold. The Florentine jeweller Paolo Penko recreated the diamond with cubic zirconia in a set as it appeared based on historical records and description when Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria (1589–1631) wore it. This is exhibited at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence. The Florentine Diamond plays a role in Dan Hanel’s 2015 novel In The Shadow of Diablo: Death at

140-617: The diamond's weight and specificities were properly documented by Dr. Moritz Hoernes , head of the Imperial and Royal Court Mineral Cabinet. A plaster cast was also made. A rhinestone model was made at L. Saemann in Paris, with great care taken that the colour tone of the glass replica corresponded as closely as possible to the original stone. The colour of the Florentine was described as "wine mixed tenfold with water". This historic copy

154-455: The first pear shaped Pendeloque or Briolette-cut, a revolutionary breakthrough on shape, design and cutting excellence. A bronze statue in commemoration of Lodewyk Van Bercken's contributions to the diamond industry, can be seen at the beginning of Meir Street in Antwerp , Belgium. The statue depicts Lodewyk Van Bercken holding a diamond in his hand with a baby angel floating above. Meir Street

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168-470: The industry for inventing the scaif . The device revolutionized the diamond cutting industry and contributed to increased popularity of diamonds. Van Bercken was born in Bruges . He is credited with inventing the scaif , a polishing wheel infused with a mixture of olive oil and diamond dust. With the scaif, it became possible to polish all the facets of the diamond symmetrically at angles that best reflected

182-550: The light. Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy became the patron of van Bercken and in the 1470s commissioned him to cut a 137 carat (27.4 g) stone that later became known as the Florentine Diamond . Van Bercken experimented with three diamonds belonging to Charles the Bold. One stone was the Beau Sancy , another became the property of Pope Sixtus V, and the third was given by Charles to Louis XI. Later Charles

196-683: Was deposited with the Jesuits in Rome until, after lengthy negotiations, Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany succeeded in buying it from the Castro-Noronha family for 35,000 Portuguese scudi crocati. Duke Ferdinand's son, Cosimo II , finally entrusted his father's purchase to a cutter, Pompeo Studentoli, a Venetian working in Florence . The finished gem was delivered on 10 October 1615. An inventory drawn up on Cosimo's death confirms

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