Grand Condé: French Museum Shows Famous Pink Diamond

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Grand Condé: French Museum Shows Famous Pink Diamond.

From October 17, 2026 to January 3, 2027, a very special gemstone is on display at the Musée Condé in the Château de Chantilly: the historic pink diamond »Grand Condé«. The stone, weighing a good nine carats, was stolen in October 1926 and recovered in a curious way just two months later.

It had been in the possession of the noble House of Condé since the 18th century. In October 1926, it disappeared – and returned in a spectacular manner: The thieves allegedly hid the diamond in an apple. A Parisian chambermaid discovered it when she bit into the fruit unseen.

Sounds implausible? All the newspapers would have reported on it at the time, this isn't a made-up story.

According to the museum, the oldest record of the diamond dates to 1740. It appears in an inventory drawn up after the death of Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. The striking gemstone became one of the family's most important possessions. Henri d'Orléans ultimately bequeathed the diamond, along with the entire Musée Condé, to the Institut de France.

Rare and Coveted

Pink diamonds are rare and have therefore always been coveted and expensive collector's items. The following photo gallery shows more about precious and expensive diamonds.