Eagle Diamond

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Five views of the Eagle Diamond

The Eagle Diamond is a gemstone discovered in Eagle, Wisconsin in 1876.[1] It was one of more than a dozen rare gems stolen in a heist from the American Museum of Natural History in 1964 and remains missing to this day.[2]

History[]

Discovery[]

Workers discovered the 12-sided stone while digging a well for Samuel Wood. It came into the possession of Clarissa Wood who was unaware of its worth.[1][3]

Clarissa Wood[]

According court testimony provided by Wood, in September or October of 1883, she went to Samuel B. Boynton, a jeweler in Milwaukee, to have a pin mended. As she was paying for the repair, Wood asked Boynton what he thought the stone was. Wood told Boynton she had been told it was a topaz. Boynton, offering to buy it for $1.00, said it might be. Wood declined the offer and left. On or about December 28th, 1883, Wood, needing money, returned to Boynton's shop and sold it for the $1.00 he had previously offered.[4]

Boynton took the stone to Chicago to be analyzed, where he discovered it was a diamond appraised at $700.[1] When Wood learned, she attempted to buy it back from Boynton for $1.00 plus 10 cents interest. When Boynton refused, Wood sued unsuccessfully to have it returned in a case that was ultimately decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[4]

American Museum of Natural History[]

Boynton sold the diamond to Tiffany's in New York City for $850[5] ($20,500 in 2020 dollars). It remained at Tiffany’s until World War I.[citation needed] J.P. Morgan bought the diamond, and presented it as a gift to the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City, 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 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.[6][7]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Eagle Diamond". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  2. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (2019-10-17). "How a Band of Surfer Dudes Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in N.Y. History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  3. ^ "kimberlites". project.geo.msu.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Supreme Court of Wisconsin (1885-10-13). "WOOD v. Boynton" (PDF). University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  5. ^ "Murph the Surf and The Eagle Diamond". flasputnik. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  6. ^ Macaulay, Stewart; Kidwell, John; Whitford, William C. (2003). Contracts: Law in Action : the Concise Course. LexisNexis. p. 1018. ISBN 978-0-8205-5716-8.
  7. ^ "Minerals and Gems". American Museum of Natural History.

External links[]

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