The Eagle Diamond is a

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

discovered in

Eagle, Wisconsin Eagle is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,071. The village is located within the Town of Eagle. History The town's name comes from an 1836 incident when pioneer Thomas Sugden and ...

in 1876 that was about 16 carats. It was found on a hillside about 30 feet below the surface in glacial till while digging a well. 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 (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

in 1964 and remains missing to this day.__TOC__

History

The stone was originally discovered by workers hired by Thomas Devereaux of Eagle, Wisconsin to dig a well on the hill where the current water tower stands. It was described as being located under 25 feet of loose gravel, followed by four feet of clay, inside a six feet thick layer of yellow "matrix" consisting of gravel or clay cemented by oxide of iron. At that time, none knew it was in fact a valuable diamond. Eventually it came into the possession of Charles and Clarissa Wood, who were living on Devereaux's land as tenants. 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 is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 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 made of aluminium, aluminum and fluorine with the chemical formula aluminium, Alsilicon, Sioxygen, O(fluorine, F, hydroxide, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural ...

. 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

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 debtor 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 f ...

. 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 Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

. Meanwhile, Boynton leased the area that the diamond was found and under the pretext of chicken farming he built privacy fences and mined the hillside for additional diamonds. After several years of fruitless digging, he spread inferior gems in the area to attract investors for his Eagle Diamond-Mining Company. Eventually, Boynton sold the diamond to

Tiffany's Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is an American luxury jewelry and specialty design house headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Tiffany is known for its luxury goods, particularly its sterling silver and diamond jewelry. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for $850 ($20,500 in 2020).

George F. Kunz George Frederick Kunz (September 29, 1856 – June 29, 1932) was an American mineralogist and mineral collector. Biography Kunz was born in New York City, USA, and began an interest in minerals at a very young age. By his teens, he had amass ...

, gemologist for Tiffany and Co., assembled a large collections of gems for the 1889 Exposition Universelle with the help of Tiffany and Co. This collection was purchased by

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 Pa ...

, and donated to the American Museum of Natural History. With Morgan's help a much larger collection was assembled for the 1900 exposition in Paris, which was also donated to the Museum; this second collection included the Eagle Diamond. 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 asterism (gemmology), star ruby. 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 ...

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