Lost Florentine Diamond Safe in Canada for Decades

A legendary 137-carat diamond known as the Florentine, long believed lost after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, has been revealed by Habsburg family descendants to have been safely stored in a Canadian bank vault for decades.

The gem, a pear-shaped yellow stone originally owned by the Medici family of Florence before entering the Habsburg collection in the 18th century through marriage, vanished from public view as Emperor Charles I prepared for exile at the end of World War I. Charles, nephew of Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose assassination sparked the conflict, ordered the family's royal jewels transported to Switzerland amid rising threats from Bolsheviks and anarchists. The diamond's disappearance fueled decades of speculation, with many assuming it had been stolen, recut or sold, inspiring novels and films centered on its mystery.

In a disclosure to family members and experts, Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, 64, grandson of Charles I and a current Habsburg descendant, explained that the jewel was never lost. His grandmother, Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, carried the treasures, including the Florentine Diamond, in a small cardboard suitcase as she fled...