PSM V56 D0083 Five views of the eagle diamond

The Eagle Diamond is a

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

discovered in

Eagle, Wisconsin Eagle is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 1,950. The village is located within the Town of Eagle. History The town's name comes from an 1836 incident when pioneer Thomas Sugden and t ...

in 1876. It was one of more than a dozen rare gems stolen in a heist from the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

in 1964 and remains missing to this day.__TOC__

History

The stone was originally discovered by workers hired by Samuel Wood of Eagle, Wisconsin to dig a well. At that time, none knew it was in fact a valuable diamond. Eventually it came into the possession of Samuel Wood's wife, Clarissa Wood. According to court testimony provided by Ms. Wood, in September or October of 1883, she went to Samuel B. Boynton, a jeweler in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, to have a pin mended. As she was paying for the repair, Wood asked Boynton what he thought of the stone. Wood told Boynton she had been told it was a

topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...

. Boynton, said it might be, and offered to buy it for one dollar. Wood declined Boynton's offer and left. About two months later, Wood, needing money, returned to Boynton's shop and sold it to him for the one dollar he had previously offered. Boynton took the stone to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to be appraised, where he discovered it was a

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

worth $700. When Wood learned of the appraisal, she attempted to buy the stone back from Boynton for one dollar, plus ten cents

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct ...

. When Boynton refused her offer, Wood sued unsuccessfully to have it returned to her in a case that was ultimately decided by the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

. Eventually, Boynton sold the diamond to

Tiffany's Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for $850 ($20,500 in 2020). It remained at Tiffany’s until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Later,

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Park ...

bought the diamond, and presented it as a gift to the

, in

, of which he was a benefactor. It was displayed in the J.P. Morgan Memorial Hall along with the Star of India and the

DeLong Star Ruby The DeLong Star Ruby, a oval cabochon star ruby, was discovered in Burma in the 1930s. It was sold by Martin Ehrmann to Edith Haggin DeLong for , who then donated it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1937. On October ...

until October 29, 1964 when it was stolen, by Jack "Murph the Surf" Murphy and his two accomplices, Allen Kuhn and Roger Clark. The diamond has never been recovered and is thought to have been cut into smaller stones.

References

External links

The AMNH Gem and Mineral Collection

{Dead link, date=August 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes resulting when Clarissa Wood sought to recover the stone Diamonds originating in the United States Waukesha County, Wisconsin 1876 in Wisconsin Individual diamonds Individual thefts

History

See also

References

External links