Eagle Diamond
Encyclopedia
The Eagle Diamond was discovered in Eagle, Wisconsin
in 1876 by a man named Charles Wood while he was digging a well. The land in which he was digging was not his own; it belonged, rather, to Thomas Deveraux, and Charles and his wife Clarissa were merely renters. Wood did not think the stone was very valuable, and believed it to be a topaz, because the color of the 16.25 carat (3.25 g) crystal was a "warm sunny color". Some years later, when the Wood family fell on hard times, Clarissa sold the stone for $1.00 to a Samuel B. Boynton of Milwaukee. Sometime after the sale, Boynton took the stone to Chicago
for appraisal where it was revealed to be a diamond, and worth at least $US 700.
Boynton sold the diamond
to Tiffany
’s in New York City
for US$ 850. It remained at Tiffany’s until World War I
. J.P. Morgan bought the diamond, and presented it as a gift to the American Museum of Natural History
, in New York City. It was placed in the J.P. Morgan exhibit along with the Star Sapphire of India
and the de Long Ruby
until it was stolen on October 29, 1964 by Murph the Surf. It has been hypothesized that the Eagle Diamond was probably cut into smaller stone(s) and no longer exists.
At that time of the stone’s discovery, it was one of the largest ever recovered in the continental United States. The stone's discovery location, however, is not adjacent to a natural diamond source. The Eagle Diamond may have been transported to its discovery site in southeastern Wisconsin by glacier
s during one of the Ice Age
s. The disappearance of the original diamond makes it impossible to determine its actual point of origin, but several kimberlite
pipes have been discovered in the Northwest Territories, Canada
.
Eagle, Wisconsin
Eagle is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Eagle.-Museums:...
in 1876 by a man named Charles Wood while he was digging a well. The land in which he was digging was not his own; it belonged, rather, to Thomas Deveraux, and Charles and his wife Clarissa were merely renters. Wood did not think the stone was very valuable, and believed it to be a topaz, because the color of the 16.25 carat (3.25 g) crystal was a "warm sunny color". Some years later, when the Wood family fell on hard times, Clarissa sold the stone for $1.00 to a Samuel B. Boynton of Milwaukee. Sometime after the sale, Boynton took the stone to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for appraisal where it was revealed to be a diamond, and worth at least $US 700.
Boynton sold the diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
to Tiffany
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
’s in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for US$ 850. It remained at Tiffany’s until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. J.P. Morgan bought the diamond, and presented it as a gift to the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, in New York City. It was placed in the J.P. Morgan exhibit along with the Star Sapphire of India
Star of India (gem)
The Star of India is a 563.35 carat star sapphire, one of the largest such gems in the world. It is almost flawless and unusual in that it has stars on both sides of the stone...
and the de Long Ruby
DeLong Star Ruby
The DeLong Star Ruby, a oval cabochon star ruby, was discovered in Burma in the early twentieth century. It was sold by Martin Ehrmann to Edith Haggin DeLong for US $21,400, who donated it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1937....
until it was stolen on October 29, 1964 by Murph the Surf. It has been hypothesized that the Eagle Diamond was probably cut into smaller stone(s) and no longer exists.
At that time of the stone’s discovery, it was one of the largest ever recovered in the continental United States. The stone's discovery location, however, is not adjacent to a natural diamond source. The Eagle Diamond may have been transported to its discovery site in southeastern Wisconsin by glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s during one of the Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s. The disappearance of the original diamond makes it impossible to determine its actual point of origin, but several kimberlite
Kimberlite
Kimberlite is a type of potassic volcanic rock best known for sometimes containing diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an diamond in 1871 spawned a diamond rush, eventually creating the Big Hole....
pipes have been discovered in the Northwest Territories, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
External links
- The AMNH Gem and Mineral Collection
- Pathmarking case of Wood v. Boynton resulting when Clarissa Wood sought to recover the stone