The Eagle diamond, very likely now “deceased”, had a checkered career. Found near the village of Eagle, Wisconsin, in 1876, it was probably an ‘immigrant’, having traveled via glacier, from one of northern Canada’s then unknown diamond deposits. Its finder was Charles Woods, a hard scrabble tenant farmer who, having no reason to think it might be a diamond, kept it as a ‘pretty stone‘ A few years later, however, the tough farming that was his life pushed him and his wife, Clarissa, into desperate straits, and along with anything else that might fetch a few dollars it was sold to Samuel Boyton of Milwaukee (for $1.00!). Boyton was not much impressed with the smokey yellow 16.25 carat gem he had purchased so he put it on the shelf until he was ready to travel to Chicago. There, just to satisfy his curiosity, he had it appraised and was amazed to learn that it was, indeed, a diamond.
Timing can be everything; and so it must have been for Sam Boyton. Tiffany of New York had just recently made the young (23 years old) George Kunz a vice-president of the firm in recognition of his expertise as a ‘mineralogist’. Self taught, Kunz was both a gem enthusiast and an enthusiast for all things ‘American’. Needless to say, once Kunz heard of the diamond he had to have it for Tiffany’s collection. A deal was struck; and Boyton pocketed $850 for what then became known as ‘The Eagle Diamond.’ Never cut, it went straight into Tiffany’s gem collection and there it remained until the early teens of the 20th century. Always thought of as a curiosity, Tiffany finally sold the uncut gem to American financier J. P. Morgan who promptly donated it to New York’s American Museum of Natural History. It sat there quietly for the next half century until, in 1964, it was stolen.
In some ways it was an almost archetypical ‘60s event - beach bums, precious gems and even a movie star were all somehow involved. A pair of 27 year olds, described as ‘surf bums’ in the newspapers (Jack Murphy, AKA ‘Murph the Surf’, and Allen Kuhn), had been inspired by a film they had seen to attempt the robbery. The film, ‘Topkapi’, is a thriller in which the action revolves around the burglary of Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace Museum. The home of the Ottoman Empire’s sultans until 1856, it houses a fabulous collection of gems, jewelry and art objects, a wonderful target for burglars. As Jack and Allen saw it, there was a fortune to be made. While they had no money and couldn’t afford the trip to Turkey, New York’s American Museum was doable; and on the night of October 29, 1964, they did it.
On the morning of the 30th the museum’s guards found that 24 gems had been stolen; and while the focus of concern was the world’s largest star sapphire (the Star of India, once owned by a heavy drinking advertising man who had kept it in his pocket), that oddity, the Eagle Diamond had also ‘flown the coup’. The ‘case’ was soon cracked, however.
Murph and Jack weren’t that slick. Their big spending life style and absence of visible income had already aroused the attention of Miami’s police; and on suspicion of a number of burglaries, they were arrested on Halloween. Their ‘modus operandi’ then attracted the attention of New York’s police; but it was only a suspicion. Released on bond in Miami, the New York Police Department’s interest in the duo became public knowledge. This made them instant celebrities. It was also their undoing. Actress Eva Gabor saw their pictures in a newspaper and recognized them as the pair who had robbed her at gunpoint several months previously. She filed a complaint; and this rattled Allen so badly that he made a deal with Manhattan’s District Attorney. He agreed to supply information about the American Museum theft in exchange for leniency on other charges. Information in hand, the bulk of the stolen gems, both in number and value, were recovered; but not the Eagle Diamond. And it never has been. While it may be hidden somewhere waiting to be found, most of the law enforcement agencies that had become involved in solving the theft think that it was probably cut into a few smaller, anonymous gems. Sic transit gloria.
Diamonds are, of course, the most transportable pieces of wealth on the planet; and coupled with their beauty, their attraction is immediately understood. Indeed, their rarity and beauty make them perfect gifts since they wonderfully express the love you have for another. Not all diamonds are created equal, of course, but as your diamond experts we’ll help you purchase the gems that best speak for you. We’ll never sell you a homely diamond; so visit us on line at hurstsberwynjewelers.com for a look at our offerings then phone us at 708.788.0880 for an appointment to select a beautiful self-expression. We’re Hursts Berwyn Jewelers, not an ordinary jeweler.
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