Though it was thought stolen, sold, or destroyed, the descendants of Habsburg royals have located the long-lost gem&mdash;one of the most valuable in the world&mdash;at last.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The legendary 137-carat Florentine <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/most-expensive-diamonds-ever-sold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diamond</a> has finally resurfaced after vanishing from the Habsburg dynasty&rsquo;s royal collection more than 100 years ago.
The massive pear-shaped <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/sothebys-high-jewelry-sale-new-york-june-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yellow diamond</a>&mdash;once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire&mdash;has lived in myth and rumor for decades. While some claimed it was stolen, others swore it was cut down and resold. However, the Habsburg family is now refuting all these rumors: the diamond was never missing at all. Rather, it&rsquo;s been sitting in a Canadian bank vault this entire time, hidden under the orders of Empress Zita.
The news arrives as royal jewel intrigue is having a moment, especially after the recent dramatic Louvre heist in Paris. But this reveal goes deeper than a jewelry heist; it rewrites a century of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/10-real-life-young-royals-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">royal</a> history.
The Florentine&rsquo;s origins trace back even before the Habsburgs&mdash;possibly to the Medici family in Florence around the 17th century&mdash;though some historians say it was crafted for Charles the Bold, the last Duke of Burgundy. Regardless, by the time the Habsburg Empire collapsed in 1918, it was already considered one of the most well-known and important royal diamonds in Europe.
When Emperor Charles I fled Vienna after World War I, pieces of state jewelry were scattered across borders for protection. The Florentine simply &ldquo;disappeared.&rdquo; In reality, Empress Zita shared the actual location only with her sons, Robert and Rodolphe, with strict rules that it stay secret for 100 years after Charles&rsquo; death.
After leaving Europe in 1940, Zita&mdash;with the Florentine diamond in tow&mdash;arrived in North America, where she stowed the valuable diamond in a bank vault in Quebec.&nbsp;
Today, descendants Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, Lorenz von Habsburg-Lothringen, and Simeon von Habsburg have confirmed the diamond is intact&mdash;and are now preparing for it to finally go public. &ldquo;It should be part of a trust here in Canada,&rdquo; Karl Habsburg-Lothringen told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/arts/design/florentine-diamond-resurfaces-hapsburg.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. &ldquo;It should be on exhibition in Canada sometimes, so that people can actually see those pieces.&rdquo;
While the monetary value has not been disclosed, some reports say the diamond is worth between $750,000 and upwards of $1 million. The family has repeatedly declined to share the estimated worth, and stated that they have no plans to sell the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/most-expensive-celebrity-engagement-rings-taylor-swift-selena-gomez-georgina-rodriguez" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diamond</a>.&nbsp;

One of History’s Most Mysterious Royal Diamonds Has Reappeared

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